A world of their own: a tale of Chaos
by Nival Vixen
Summary: The Mad Professor and Blossom, his second-in-command, have taken over the world, and for three years their reign has been undefeated. The world has changed, and one of the last heroic rebels may not be the saviour everyone was hoping for. Implied and eventual Layla/Warren
1. Layla - Blossom

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sky High.

**Summary:** The Mad Professor and Blossom have taken over the world, and for three years their reign has been undefeated. The world has changed, and one of the last heroic rebels may not be the saviour everyone was hoping for. Layla/Warren

**Author note:** this will be a Tale of Chaos, but as you may already see from the summary, it is going to be very different from the others. Hoping this will be a shorter fic than _Mother Nature_.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_.

...

Chapter One

...

Despite her role in saving the school (and really, the whole of Maxville) in her first year at Sky High, Principal Powers had not allowed Layla to be changed to the Hero track. Coach Boomer refused to believe that she had powers of any kind, even though she'd offered to show him. Apparently, Will's bump up to the Hero track had only been achieved due to the amount of witnesses that had seen him power up. Since that incident, nearly all of the Sidekicks at Sky High had propositioned Principal Powers, certain that their own powers were worthy of being Heroes too. By the time Royal Pain's attempted takeover and subsequent defeat had been and gone, both Principal Powers and Coach Boomer were fed up with Sidekicks attempting to thwart the system that had placed them in their status, and they'd both agreed to not let any more Sidekicks try out for the Hero track. So when Layla queried Principal Powers two weeks after saving Sky High, she received nothing but a terse and firm negative reply. _From here on out, _**_no one_**_ would be allowed to switch tracks_. Quelling her desire to make the school grounds into a jungle, Layla nodded and left, thinking that she understood their reasoning and could rationally accept her fate to stay as a Sidekick. She did understand, but as she found out in three months time, Layla definitely hadn't accepted her fate, and certainly not in the rational manner she thought she had.

Wendy Walker, a girl who could manipulate the weather, was threatening to hit Zach with a lightning bolt after he'd bumped into her in the cafeteria and she'd spilled her food over herself. Magenta, who hated bullying of any kind - even if her ex-boyfriend was the target - had started to get angry. The clouds around the school darkened as Wendy's power grew, and Magenta had started to shake in anger. Her anger enveloped her, and she jumped up and attacked Wendy. As she'd done so, her entire body shifted to that of a lion, and the roar that she emitted could be heard over the crash of thunder. That very afternoon, Magenta had been switched to the Hero track. At first, Layla told herself that she didn't mind, that Magenta hadn't really meant to change in front of everyone, and she even told herself that she was happy for Magenta. But the feelings of betrayal by both her friend and the educational institution were there, and they were beginning to grow.

Layla found that she couldn't look at Magenta for very long without her hands clenching into fists. She couldn't look at Coach Boomer during Save the Citizen, keeping her eyes firmly on the players that Will and Warren continued to defeat. During assembly, Layla couldn't even bring herself to listen to what Principal Powers was saying, and had Ethan and Zach reiterate anything important for her.

Her mother had seen the cold look in her eyes when talking of Sky High, and so Jenny had tried to talk to Layla about it, just as she'd done when Will and Layla had broken up. Layla had simply mentioned that Magenta had been changed to the Hero track, and she felt as though she was losing her friend. Jenny had felt somewhat relieved that it wasn't anything more sinister and hugged her daughter, telling Layla that she could always make new friends if Magenta wasn't good enough to stay friends with her. Layla had forced herself to smile, thanked her mother for her advice, despite thinking that her mother must have forgotten about the cliques that formed in Sky High. People had already chosen their friends in the first week of their freshman year, and that wouldn't change. Unless, of course, they had been changed to the Hero track like Will and Magenta.

With Will and Magenta off in the Hero track, with their own assignments and work so different from theirs, Layla, Zach and Ethan saw less of them as time passed. The former two made new friends, joined new cliques, and it wasn't long before Will and Magenta became a couple, seemingly forgetting all about their Sidekick friends, just as Will had done when Gwen Grayson paid him attention.

Layla had gone to _The Paper Lantern_ the night Will and Magenta became a couple, every daisy on every table withering the moment she stepped inside the restaurant. It was Warren's night off, but Mr. Medulla was at the restaurant, waiting for his lovely blonde girlfriends for their date. The restaurant was full, and the only other seat was at Mr. Medulla's table, who was alternating between looking at his watch and phone every few minutes, a frown on his face. Layla had gone over to him, asking boldly if she could sit with him. She promised to leave the moment his date arrived, as she just wanted somewhere to sit down and eat quickly. Startled at seeing one of his students, Mr. Medulla had simply nodded and then returned to checking his watch and phone. A wail of sirens passing the restaurant had a few people looking out of the window briefly, but most returned to their meals. Bored while waiting for her food to arrive, Layla began to make the daisy on the table wilt and brighten, taking it closer to the point of death each time she did so. Distracted from his phone and watch, Mr. Medulla watched the Sidekick coerced the plant to life and death, alternating between the two with precision and control that most senior Heroes lacked. Cautious - and knowing all too well what had happened that day between Mr. Stronghold and Miss Yolanda - he asked why she was still a Sidekick with her sort of power. Layla had been emotional to begin with, but Mr. Medulla's surprisingly kind words had her spilling her entire story from rescuing the school the year before to being refused a Hero test, to Will and Magenta getting together.

Mr. Medulla's phone rang as she finished her tale, and from his expression, Layla could tell that it was bad news. He hung up and left the restaurant as fast as he could, not even remembering to pay for the entree he'd eaten while waiting for his girlfriends. Layla paid for both bills and left soon after, wondering what had happened to make him look so distraught. She found out the answer the next day when Ellie the dog brought the newspaper in; both of Mr. Medulla's girlfriends had been in a car accident and died on impact.

The death of his girlfriends had been the catalyst, and the small kernel of loathing for the muscle-bound superheroes who had ended up on cereal boxes instead of _him _had engulfed him until he'd attempted to take his own life by drinking one of his experiments. Unfortunately for everyone else, it had released dormant genes similar to Jekyll and Hyde. Except in this case, it completely eradicated Jekyll, and the Mad Professor was born.

For months before the Mad Professor's takeover of Maxville, whispers had abounded through Sky High of a new villain who was recruiting. Most took no notice of the whispers, too encompassed in their own problems and lives to risk becoming the next Royal Pain in Maxville's Super Penitentiary. However, there were a few that paid more attention to the whispers than others, the promise of the future filling their minds until it was all they could think of. In the entire student population of nearly 200 people, 5 people followed the whispers to their source: Mr. Medulla.

Layla had been the first person to seek Mr. Medulla out. Soon, an extracurricular class was created at Sky High to allow students to use the gym to train for Save the Citizen. Unlike most school clubs, this one was by invitation only, and under the Mad Professor's guidance, those 5 people became 25. They fought amongst themselves, making their way up the hierarchy that he had created. In the school hallways, the sight of a junior nodding in respect to a freshman or a senior doing the bidding of a sophomore perplexed most of the students, but those that knew and understood why they had done so simply smiled and moved on.

The Mad Professor tested each and every one of his recruits to ensure that they would not fail him when the time came, and after the tests, he allowed only 20 to remain. Silencing the other 5 was not too difficult; a quick mix of chemicals altered their memories to the point where they almost forgot his name. Within a matter of weeks, the final hierarchy was set, and only formal challenges could change the positioning of the recruits. Most seemed happy with their position, although he watched with cold eyes as some of the more ambitious, the more angry, desperate, and emotional recruits fought for the top position against his second-in-command. The Mad Professor doubted that any of them were emotional enough to best Layla Williams, but it was interesting to see them try only to fail time and time again.

Finally, as the next school year was coming to an end, and people were beginning to take note of the whispers, the Mad Professor declared that the time had come. He had waited far too long for this moment, to finally be the one known and recognised, to be the one that everyone looked up to, admired, respected. The time for them to take over Maxville had arrived. The Mad Professor unleashed a torrent of chemicals into the air, and within a matter of days, most of the world's population became sick. Supers and humans were affected alike, and there was nothing that they could do to stave off the epidemic. Quarantines were created uselessly, people took every drug, vitamin and herb to try and get rid of the flu, but nothing helped or stopped the onslaught. Only a select few had been given the antidote to the chemicals that had been released, and a number of people were naturally immune. Within a matter of weeks, people who had only had started off with flu-like symptoms had died suddenly and without an apparent cause.

The Mad Professor claimed responsibility for the sickness, and barely had to wait a week before the Commander and Jetstream challenged him. Accepting their challenge, the Mad Professor let the two superheroes know exactly where he was, knowing it wouldn't take very long for them to come for him. He created a field around his lair, making the gravity much heavier, effectively grounding Jetstream. Blossom, as Layla was now known, had littered the path with thorny bushes and poisonous plants that Jetstream and the Commander had no choice but to walk over. Despite his strength making him almost invincible, the Commander was still human, still covered in flesh, and still susceptible to thorns and poisons entering his bloodstream. The toxins within the forcefield were also working towards weakening them, and by the time the two heroes made it to the laboratory where the Mad Professor and Blossom were, they had been reduced to nothing more than mortals in lycra. They were defeated in a matter of minutes, unable to withstand the attacks from the Mad Professor's recruits, nearly all of whom had been given the antidote. Blossom - the only one who hadn't been given an antidote - was standing with the Mad Professor in an adjoining room, watching as Jetstream and the Commander were defeated.

Most of the heroes had relied on the Commander and Jetstream to defeat the villains. But now that their saviours had been defeated, other heroes decided to fight. They'd all used traditional means of rushing into things with powers blazing; very few had thought their tactics and strategy through, and not one had won. Those that didn't offer to fight were left for the moment, and the Mad Professor's reign began with Blossom slowly dying beside him.

Months after releasing the toxins, the world's population drastically reduced, the Mad Professor and his recruits came forward to claim responsibility to the rest of the world, and to provide proof of the antidote. From the white pallor of her skin, and the life support she'd been put on, it was obvious that Blossom had no natural immune system against the toxic chemicals. But on live television that was broadcast across the globe, the Mad Professor cured her with a single drop of his antidote. Countries came forward to demand, bribe, and beg for the antidote. The Mad Professor refused them all, and when war was declared against him by both supers and humans, he threatened to release the second wave of the chemicals: this one was so pure that it would attack anyone with a natural immunity to the first wave. Realising that they couldn't risk what was left of their populations, one by one, countries slowly retreated to try and live their lives with whatever - and whoever - they had left.

With Blossom as second in command, the plants withered and the trees died in a matter of months. No plant life could withstand her power, and the earth was soon brown and barren. The Mad Professor had done something to her power, experimented on her (some said unwillingly, others said it was her idea), and she was so powerful that she didn't even need to be on the same continent to unleash her devastating power on the hapless flora.

Enraged at their governments' decisions, groups of rebels joined together, some super and some not, in order to attack the Mad Professor and get the antidote for themselves. They trained in secret for months, knowing that they weren't strong enough to take him on and win at their present ability. Six months after his first release of the toxins, the rebels went to Maxville, banding together to attack. They didn't get far. With Layla cured and well again, the earth itself fought against them, vines holding some back, trees propelling others into the sky, and those who passed the other booby traps that were set around the Mad Professor's laboratory and lair were met with a forest of poisonous plants, trees, shrubs, and other foliage. Quicksand, arrows, lasers, all manner of deterrent came out of the walls, and yet, some were still lucky enough to get passed it. Thinking themselves stronger and smarter than their opposition, the rebels failed to realise that their breathing was becoming laboured in the passages to the laboratory. The pure chemicals that the Mad Professor had revealed on live TV were slowly seeping their way into the passages, and a few of them began to cough, even as the laboratory came into sight. Those that were left ran the last few metres, only to discover an empty laboratory. No antidote, no papers, nothing to say that the place had even been occupied. Then a TV screen switched on, and the Mad Professor appeared, Blossom beside him. The Mad Professor congratulated them on making it this far, and then with an evil smirk, began to tell the rebels of their folly. By entering the sealed passages and destroying the plant life that blocked their way, the rebels had actually released the pure toxins into the atmosphere. _They had just killed what was left of humanity_, he added with a final evil cackle. The rebels were too sick to answer, most already on the floor clutching their stomach or trying to tear off their own skin to stop the pain. Blossom and the Mad Professor watched as the rebels died slowly in the abandoned laboratory. The rebels entry had been broadcast across the globe, interrupting all scheduled programming without so much as a warning. The world knew that their days were numbered.

Of course, with the pure toxins released into the atmosphere, the rest of the world's population would have been annihilated. When it was obvious to see that their medicinal companies weren't going to be able to create their own antidote in time, the countries governments came forward once more. This time, they didn't bother to demand or threaten, but simply begged for the antidote. In exchange for the reign of each country, the Mad Professor released a controlled amount of the antidote into the atmosphere, a forcefield ensuring that the cure would not go beyond the country's border. Some were quick to comply, others look a few months, but eventually, they all succumbed. By the time the Mad Professor had control over every country in the world, the global population had been reduced to one billion people.

Now rulers of the world itself, the Mad Professor and Blossom had gathered quite a following. Some people had joined for the power, others so they could be on the side they knew would win, but there were a select few who had joined because they truly believed in the future that the Mad Professor had promised them.

Yet, there were some who still rebelled against the reigning supervillains, and trained in secret so that one day, they could overthrow the tyrannical leaders.

...

End of the first chapter.

Thank you for reading; hope you liked it.


	2. Warren - Ignite

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sky High.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_.

...

Chapter Two

...

_Three years later._..

Finishing work, Warren left the _Paper Lantern_ quickly before Mrs. Woo could make him do another shift. He headed down the street, pulling his jacket around him tighter. The world was no longer safe, not even for a super like himself. He'd discovered the hard way that there were worse villains than Royal Pain and his own father.

It was still warm, despite the late hour, and he received a few odd looks for wearing his leather jacket. He glared at the few people who did have the audacity to look at him, and they quickly looked away. Warren shook his head at their inability to hold their ground for longer than five seconds, wondering how he'd ever been surprised that the heroes had lost.

Despite his exhaustion, the message left at his door made Warren unable to move and walk inside. The door had been torn off the hinges, thorny vines wrapped around it with roses blooming and still fresh despite being there for hours without water or soil.

_Blossom had finally challenged him then_. She was second in command in the revolution of villains, a fact which few people seemed to fully comprehend. Warren maintained that she was underestimated due to her age, which was made more than obvious by the heroes who had deemed her nothing more than a sidekick and paid the price for their mistake.

His exhaustion overtook his shock, and Warren felt as though he could sleep for weeks. Sighing, Warren flicked his wrist, the flowers burning to dust beneath the burst of power. When nothing but ash remained, Warren propped his door up against the frame. No one would disturb him - everyone knew what the roses meant - and if the roses had been there for as long as he suspected, what was left of Maxville's population would already know that he'd been challenged.

Getting up the next morning wasn't as difficult as Warren expected. In fact, he was awake early enough to see the run rise. Deciding not to delay the inevitable, he left the house and headed to the Mad Professor's castle called the Laboratory (nicknamed the Lab, as if _that_ would make it seem less imposing), to face his death.

Heading down the street, Warren kept his gaze on the road, not allowing himself to look at the destruction surrounding him. It was worse than any Hollywood post-apocalyptic world could have imagined.

Blossom was the one to issue challenges against the heroes, the Mad Professor wanting to prove that he was the strongest, the best, and no one could stop him. So far, he'd succeeded in exactly that, and every hero he'd faced had either been killed or joined him. Warren highly doubted that he'd be the one to stop them, but he was beginning to think that he wouldn't stop them even if he could. Too much had happened, too much had been lost, and things had changed beyond comprehension in the last three years. Warren doubted that the world could ever go back to what it had been before.

Reaching his destination, Warren looked up at the camera that turned to scrutinise him. The pristine white door opened with an audible click and he stepped through the doorway without a moment's hesitation.

A bright flash to his side had Warren looking over to see Zach waiting for him. "Hey, Warren; this way," he said, leading him away from the entrance of the Lab.

Warren wasn't surprised to see Zach - according to reports, he hadn't been one of the original 5, but had joined in the next recruitment of 25 with Ethan, both of whom had stayed - and so, simply followed him across the courtyard.

"So how's things been on the outside? You must've had a natural immunity to the antidote to still be alive this close to the source, yeah?" Zach asked.

Warren just nodded, not wanting to talk. Either oblivious or impervious to Warren's desire, Zach continued to chat on amiably enough. He was even cracking jokes and laughing, just as he'd done all of those years ago at Sky High. For a moment, Warren just couldn't believe that Zach could ever have been on the Mad Professor's side. Then he remembered the TV broadcast of Zach and Magenta's fight... Only, it was Blaze and Shifter fighting then, and he'd incapacitated her with a few bright flashes, a rhythmic blast of light that had her lion shape seizing. Refraining from shuddering, Warren returned his attention back to Zach, and thankfully, the blonde man stopped talking when they arrived at a particular door.

"Good luck in there, Ignite. Hope to see you on the other side," Zach said, clasping him on the shoulder before stepping back and waiting.

Warren bristled at his hero name, loathing it now more than ever, and opened the door. Seeing nothing but darkness, Warren lit his arms up before stepping into the pitch black room.

"I know what you're planning on doing, Warren."

_That voice. He still remembered it as if he'd only seen her yesterday, rather than almost four years ago_... It had been his hell once, to listen to that voice, to know that the owner of that voice was in love with someone else. He hadn't heard Layla's voice in so long, going so far as to mute every news announcement that she'd speak in, and he wished it had stayed that way. Even just hearing her voice now felt like hot knives had been plunged into his stomach. Going into this, he'd hated the idea of fighting against her, still plagued by the thought that if only he'd been at work that night all of those years ago, things might have turned out very differently.

His arms glowing brighter, Warren turned in a slow circle to find that he was still alone in the room, but in the corner a small red light was flashing at him from a camera, a speaker embedded into the wall above it.

"Well then, why don't you tell me what I'm planning on doing, so we're both up to speed?" Warren asked, proud of the way his voice didn't crack.

"You're one of the rebels from the Maxville division. You're planning on yielding and joining us so that you can relay information about us back to the Paper Lantern Rebels. It won't work," Blossom informed him authoritatively.

"It must be handy having a psychic on your side," Warren commented, raising his eyebrow at the camera with a slight grin. "I wasn't planning on doing that anyway. It's just what they wanted me to do."

"Lying to me isn't beneficial to your survival right now."

Around him, the walls moved, and Warren belatedly realised that they were covered in thorny vines. His throat dry, he gave a slight nod to the camera.

"Fine, I probably would have tried to send them information. Is that all that you wanted: a confession? Are you going to kill me now?"

"No," Blossom replied, her response surprising him. "That's not what I wanted, and I'm not going to kill you. Well, I might, that's up to you," she added.

"Care to elaborate, hippie?" he asked, the nickname out of his mouth before he could realise or stop it.

He used to call her _hippie_ just to see her blush red in anger, indignation spreading across her. She'd yell at him, eventually deflating when she ran out of words, and he'd have to kiss her until she was blushing red for a very different reason. _But those days were long gone_.

It took her a moment to reply, and for a moment, Warren thought that maybe she'd been remembering the same thing as he had.

"You can yield and join us, so long as you promise not to give information to the rebels."

"That's it? I say that I won't do it, and you'll believe me?" he asked scornfully.

"Not exactly," she replied, and he could have sworn she was smirking.

The vines on the walls began to move again, slithering down to the ground to encircle him.

"Yield or fight? It's your choice, Warren," she added.

Despite everything that had happened in the world, the people he'd seen die, the ones he'd seen take up with the Mad Professor, despite losing nearly everyone and everything, Warren wasn't ready to die.

"I yield."

The vines that encircled him now shot forward, wrapping around him tightly. He tried to power up, but they'd blocked his access to oxygen, and then the vines were covering him completely from head to toe, and he could feel thorns digging into his skin. Unable to draw a breath to cry out in pain, or do something else, he didn't know, Warren just concentrated on keeping himself upright as the pain intensified. In the back of his mind, he could hear Mrs. Woo's voice, her broken English and fluent Chinese mixing together to berate him in two languages.

_He'd been trained to withstand more pain than this! He had to keep it together, or he'd be no use to anyone_!

The vines left him, his body riddled with bloody holes, and Warren swayed on his feet, his stomach churning.

"You're one of the few to have gone through that and stay standing," Blossom said, sounding intrigued.

Warren made some sort of noise, all of his energy concentrated on keeping him upright. A low laugh sounded through the speaker, then a large flower burst into bloom before him. It was bright yellow, and Warren knew exactly what that thing could do to him. Despite his former hero status, he winced as a fine pollen-like mist was sprayed over him. His eyes stayed closed and he collapsed to the floor in a heap of bloody and torn clothes.

...

"I don't know about this, Blossom. We _know_ he's one of the rebels; do you really think he's going to keep his word?" Ethan muttered.

"He's a hero, isn't he? They all have that ridiculous sense of honour about keeping their word," Blossom replied. "Besides, my thorns haven't proved us wrong yet."

"True. I've still got the video recording of that guy when all of those thorns came back out. It was freaking hilarious," Zach said, laughing.

"You have the weirdest sense of humour," Ethan said, shaking his head at him.

Zach just grinned and slung his arm around Ethan's shoulders. "You still love me."

"Idiot," he muttered fondly. "Come on, let's leave Blossom to this. You've got training to do, and you know how Coach'll get if you're late," Ethan said, nudging him down the corridor. When Zach was out of sight, he sighed and looked to Blossom. "You do know what you're doing, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Just what are you insinuating?" she asked icily.

"Nothing at all," Ethan said hurriedly, putting his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "But we both know that you're not good at thinking straight when Warren's involved," he added pointedly.

"I think straight no matter who's involved, thank you very much," Blossom hissed.

Ethan decided not to mention the plethora of times that she could have brought Warren into this - long before the Mad Professor's second group had been formed - or the numerous times she could have killed him over the years for his work with the rebels at the Paper Lantern. They had scouted the Paper Lantern rebels as soon as they'd known of their existence, and it was at Blossom's insistence that they had been left alone. Rumours had abounded the training grounds when this news was discovered, but no one dared to say a thing to Blossom's face, remembering all too well what had happened to those that had done so at an earlier time. The only reason Ethan brought it up now was that this was a very different playing field. They had informants on the rebels side, but until now, they had never let a rebel infiltrate their own side. The Mad Professor would see how this was a mistake, surely.

"All right, Blossom, I won't bring it up again. I'd better go make sure Zach's not pummelling Coach for the sixteenth time in a row."

Blossom gave him a rare smile, and Ethan left before her temper swayed back to dangerous and deadly. Despite finally being alone with Warren, she didn't stay for long. In a matter of minutes, she had left his room and headed to the Mad Professor's laboratory, a thick set of vines covering the door behind her. It wasn't just designed to keep Warren locked in, but also to keep people out. There were many people who would not be pleased at the rebel's presence, even more so since Warren had killed many of their family and friends along with the Paper Lantern rebels.

...

End of the second chapter.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Zach - Blaze

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sky High.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_...

...

Chapter Three

...

_Six months later._

Zach watched as Warren fought against Coach, but his attention was distracted by the whispers that abounded in the gallery above the training area. Warren's presence at the Lab had been talked about for months, eventuating in a small group of people attempting to kill him. It seemed that the rest of the recruits didn't appreciate the fact that Warren had beaten them one against five, or that the group had been killed by Blossom without a second thought, vines wrapping around their bodies to poison and suffocate and squeeze until their was no life left in their body.

The Mad Professor had condoned her actions, stating that the presence of one person should not divide them as a group. _They were better than that, and if the mere presence of a rebel could make them revert to their childish ways, then they deserved death_.

A fireball hit the gallery's safety wall, reverberating loudly as proof of just how hard the fire was being thrown. _No wonder the fifth tier recruits had been defeated by him_, Zach thought with a shake of his head.

Zach left the training gallery and headed along the path, nodding to a few third tier recruits that stopped when he passed them. Saluting was something none of them liked to do, but to go still for a moment demonstrated respect and a recognition of the higher tiered person. It was also useful to see who might be planning something against them - eye contact was necessary, and for most of the higher tiered recruits, it was easy to see who was hostile from the look in their eyes.

_Just because they'd been recruited and banded together under the Mad Professor and Blossom, it didn't mean everything was roses_. Zach chuckled at his own pun.

On arriving at his apartment, Zach was surprised to see a yellow rose sitting on his doormat (the mat read '_speak friend and enter_' - something Ethan had seen and wanted desperately, no matter that they were in the middle of a heist. Zach had taken the damn thing, thinking that if they were caught over a freaking doormat they'd never hear the end of it), picking the rose up carefully. He counted the seven petals and glanced at his watch. It was half past six now.

"We've got half an hour before we have to meet Blossom," Zach called as he entered the apartment, placing the rose on the small stand by the door.

Blossom could have called, but it was easier for her to create roses to signify different things. Yellow meant both of them were to go to her, white was just one person, purple and black were the same but for the Mad Professor instead. Green or blue roses meant that Blossom or the Mad Professor were coming to see them. The number of petals signified the time, and each leaf on the stalk represented 15 minutes. The very idea of red roses sent a shiver up Zach's spine. Blossom only ever used the red roses when she was killing someone; there was nothing romantic about getting a red rose nowadays: it meant you were going to die.

"What's wrong?" Zach asked when Ethan didn't reply to him, and he saw him sitting on the lounge, staring at the blank TV.

Ethan sighed and held up a bright green card. Zach understood his silence immediately; the card meant that Ethan's position in the hierarchy had been challenged. _Again_.

"Johnny?" he asked, referring to a fourth tier recruit who hadn't accepted his position since receiving it the year before.

"Who else?" Ethan asked with a sour laugh. "This is the tenth damn time; you really think he'd've learnt his lesson the first nine times!"

"Don't worry, he'll have to start challenging other people after this time. You know he's only challenging you because he's constantly underestimating you. It's his own fault for constantly thinking he's miraculously thought of a way to defeat you."

Ethan sighed again, standing and kissing Zach. "I know... But last time he almost did win," he muttered, heading to their bedroom to get changed.

Zach frowned and followed him, glowing softly so Ethan wouldn't have to turn on the light.

"He almost killed himself in the process, so it wouldn't have been much of a victory," Zach said.

"He still would have won, dead or not, and I'd've been shoved back down to fourth tier. It took me years to get up to third, and a damn **kid**almost beat me after a year of training," Ethan said, pulling his shirt off harshly.

"We'll cancel with Blossom and I'll help you train if you're that worried," Zach offered.

Ethan shook his head, pulling on another shirt and buttoning it up. "It's fine; we haven't seen Blossom for weeks, and we both want to catch up with her. Maybe we can train afterwards if I still feel worried," he suggested.

"Deal," Zach promised, moving over to straighten up Ethan's tie. When that was done, he pressed a kiss to his lips. "You'll be fine, I promise."

"If I'm not, kick his ass down to the fifteenth tier for me."

"Please, I'll kick his ass back to _civilian_status," Zach said, grinning broadly. "But nothing's going to happen," he added confidently.

Ethan didn't look as convinced, wrapping his arms around Zach to hug him tightly for a moment. "Come on, we'd better get to Blossom's or we might be red-rosed," he said with a slight grin.

His words had the desired affect, and Zach hurried to change his shirt.

...

Blossom seemed distracted at dinner, but Zach and Ethan both knew about the mutiny that was occurring over in South Africa. Supers over there were starting to think that the Mad Professor had become weak, that he no longer had a hold over them now that the antidote had completely cleared the air of any toxins. They were wrong, of course.

By the time they were halfway through the main course, Blossom seemed to be present once more, and looked up at them, smiling and blinking slowly.

"South Africa's under control again. They were testing my patience though, using weed killer and fire against my poor plants. Just see if they can harvest their crops this season," Blossom muttered tersely.

"See if who harvests their crops?"

Zach and Ethan went still as the door slid closed behind Warren's arrival.

"What's Ignite doing here?" Zach asked Blossom hesitantly.

Warren glowered at Zach's use of his hero name again, but Zach ignored the man's fierce expression.

"I thought it might do everyone some good to catch up again. It looks like Warren's going to be staying here for a while, and seeing some familiar faces would help with the transition."

"He's already been here for six months," Ethan muttered.

"And in that time, he hasn't seen either of you apart from the training arena," Blossom pointed out, her eyebrow raised at him.

She smiled at Warren, indicating for him to take the seat to the right of her. Zach felt like he was holding his breath, waiting to see if Warren would take the seat, wondering if he knew exactly what that seat signified. His breath expelled from him in a large whoosh when Warren sat down without a hesitation. Beside him - on the left side of the table - Ethan had gone very still.

The door slid open once more, and Blossom looked up with a brief smile.

"Yes, Hourglass?"

"We need to talk about South Africa," she said bluntly, not even batting an eyelid at Warren's presence nor his seat in the hierarchy.

Blossom sighed, nodded and followed Hourglass out of the room. The moment they were left alone, Zach looked at Warren fiercely. Warren continued to serve his meal, looking calm.

"That seat has been empty for _four years_. Do you know what you've done by sitting there?" he hissed.

"Accepted Blossom's invitation to become **her**second-in-command, I know. The rebels know what the reigning hierarchy is, just as you know of their presence. What of it, Shine?"

Zach's teeth gritted together at his superhero name. "It's Blaze, not Shine," he ground out.

"Then don't call me Ignite."

"You're going to have to beat everyone from the seventh tier up to get to second," Ethan said, referring to Warren's current place in the hierarchy.

"Looks like it," he agreed with a calm nod.

"Including Blossom, that's _eighteen_people, you do realise that? There's no breaks between challenges. You could just challenge a tier at a time, instead of the full five to get to second," Zach suggested.

"I've heard what people are saying about me, _Blaze_. I'm not going to back down just because it might be hard. Besides, even if I do burn out, I'll still have reached a higher place than the seventh tier," Warren muttered, sounding insulted at the very idea of being placed in such a low-ranking tier.

"Just be thankful you're not on the fifteenth tier, like usual converts are," Ethan retorted.

Zach was surprised to see a frown flit across Warren's face. "You didn't know that?"

He shook his head briefly in return. "Rebels know about the hierarchy, of course, but they just assumed that people were placed on certain tiers and then fought to get higher."

"It's very rare to happen nowadays. In fact, it probably hasn't happened like that since the first recruits at Sky High," Zach mused.

"Who do the rebels have as an informant?" Ethan asked, thinking over the first year to try and remember just who hadn't made it through the Mad Professor's testing.

Warren simply took a mouthful of food and didn't reply.

Blossom returned a few minutes later, Hourglass still with her. The seer must have deemed Warren's presence safe, as she'd brought Speed along too. Zach noticed just how tense both men were, but Hourglass sat by Warren as if he wasn't a threat to them all. He must have thought it louder than he realised, because Hourglass looked at him and smiled reassuringly.

"A small faction of the South African rebels tried to bring down the barrier in an attempt to get to the United States so that they could assassinate the Mad Professor," Hourglass said calmly, serving her dinner.

She passed the bread rolls to Speed as he opened his mouth to ask for them, and he grinned at her familiar act, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.

"Bringing down the barrier would only release another set of toxins, wouldn't it?" Warren asked, holding no doubt that he was correct.

Blossom just smiled at Warren's question, but it was still enough to confirm his assumption.

"It was a real pain working around the Walls to get a plane or chopper out of a country at the beginning," Zach muttered.

"Walls?" Warren asked.

"That's what we call the barriers. They're all made from Blossom's handiwork, as you know, but it's as solid as a wall," Zach replied, shrugging. "Blossom had to put Walls up around entire countries just to stop some of the rioting was happening."

"It was necessary, or else they would have eventually combined forces to try and oppose us. By separating the countries, or states in some cases, it lessened the amount of collaboration between people. It made the takeover easier, in a sense," Blossom said with a slight shrug.

Ethan almost laughed at the takeover being labelled as easy. As one of the first 25 recruits, he had been selected to go along with the Mad Professor and Blossom as they secured countries, fought against entire armies, and then he'd been given the privilege to operate an even smaller select group to remove singled threats. In the beginning of the takeover, Ethan had been an assassin. It had been anything but _easy_, although he could admit that without the Walls, it could have been much, much worse.

Outside in the hallway, a clock chimed loudly, signifying that it was now eight o'clock.

"These are for you," Speed said, handing a bulging envelope over to Warren. "You can give them out, or get them delivered if you need," he added.

Somewhat wary, Warren opened the envelope. He pulled out a thick wad of blank green cards, and thanked Speed for them.

"Who do I have to give them to for delivery?" Warren asked.

"I'll take them," Blossom said before anyone could answer.

Zach glanced at her in surprise. _The delivery job was usually given to a fifteenth tier recruit, hell, even a civilian could do delivery duty if the fifteenth tiers claimed to be too busy, but it definitely wasn't a job for the Mad Professor's second-in-command_.

"You'll need to write the names of the people you're challenging on the cards, but that's business for after dinner," Blossom added.

Giving a brief nod, Warren returned the green cards to the envelope, putting it into his jacket without protest.

"Dinner's lovely, Blossom, but you might want to check the oven or dessert will be ruined," Hourglass commented.

Paling slightly, Blossom rushed out of the dining room and into the kitchen, despite the fact that the kitchen timer still had five minutes left.

"Speed, you can apologise now," Hourglass murmured, smiling encouragingly.

Zach and Ethan knew what she was talking about, but Warren simply looked confused. There was a slight feeling of pride as Zach realised that the rebels didn't know about this aspect of the recruits. _Perhaps they might not be so rebellious if they did know_, Zach mused.

"I'm sorry for attacking you back at Sky High. I hope that you'll accept my apology, and we'll be able to continue working together to achieve our common goals," Speed said, his tone serious.

Warren's look of surprise turned to stunned in a matter of seconds, but he gave a quick nod and shook Speed's offered hand.

"Accept his apology," Hourglass whispered.

"I accept your apology... And hope we'll be able to work together to achieve our common goals," Warren added when Hourglass nodded for him to continue.

"Thanks. That's been tearing me up for the past six months," Speed said, grinning slightly. "I can't fight against you until we've apologised for past misdeeds, otherwise we'd both be more prone to fighting for revenge. I've done that before, and all it really does is screw with your head."

"Who'd you fight for revenge?" Warren asked.

"Blossom, for red-rosing Lash. Yielded about five minutes later, but I still had to apologise _and_mean it," Speed said with a chuckle. "That took a bit longer, but I got there in the end."

"Dessert's ready," Blossom announced as she entered the room carrying a tray. "Did I miss something?" she asked, seeing the expressions on their faces.

"Speed and Warren just apologised," Zach replied, shrugging.

There was a moment of appreciative silence as Blossom set down the tray, revealing soufflés for each of them. Vines wrapped around the bowls, serving everyone in a matter of seconds. Zach noted that the vines were smaller than her usual ones, frowning as he looked at Blossom properly. Despite the flush on her face - presumably from the hot oven - she was still quite pale, her eyes were darker than normal, and she seemed to be cold.

"Are you sure everything's all right in South Africa, Blossom?" Zach asked. "It took you longer than normal to get it under control," he added in concern.

She gave a weak smile at suddenly gaining everyone's attention. "It's fine now. There were a few more than I anticipated, and the weed killer was home-made. Just a stronger potency than usual," Blossom said, attempting to reassure them and failing spectacularly.

The fact that she started shivering didn't help matters. Then, before their eyes, Blossom started to convulse in her chair, her hands gripping the table tightly. Hourglass swore loudly, startling most of them but not to the point of distraction from Blossom's convulsions.

"Fuck. What do we do?" Warren demanded, looking at Hourglass.

She didn't reply, her eyes rolled up in the back of her head as she tried to purposely see the future for a solution.

"Mad Professor," Hourglass whispered weakly, collapsing into Speed's waiting arms.

Warren grabbed Blossom off the floor before anyone could stop him and ran out of the room.

"He doesn't know where the Mad Professor's lab is, does he?" Zach asked Ethan.

They both ran after him quickly, shouting directions to the lab.

The Mad Professor was surprised to see them arrive, especially to see Blossom in Warren's arms, but the moment he heard what happened, he got to work. Instructing Warren to put Blossom on the bench, the Mad Professor readied a few syringes. Taking a sample of her blood, he pressed another needle into her arm to give her a muscle relaxant. Blossom's entire body went limp, her limbs hanging over the bench loosely.

"Tell me everything," the Mad Professor said, attaching pads to her temples and vital points on her body.

"She was working on South Africa, trying to get the rebels there under control again. Blossom said that they used a home-made weed killer and it was stronger than usual. That's all I know," Zach replied.

He looked at Blossom, worrying at his bottom lip in concern. This wasn't the first time Blossom had been attacked, or had been at the centre of an assassination attempt, but it was the first time that Zach thought she might not survive it. Glancing at Warren, he was surprised to see that his earlier helpless expression had been replaced with one of pure anger. Warren looked ready to murder whoever had done this to Blossom.

"Blaze, get on the phone to South Africa. Get them to hose off the Walls, or the whole country will go up in flames. Understood?" the Mad Professor asked, not looking away from his screen.

"Got it," Zach replied, going into the lab's adjoining room to where the phone was.

"You remember the number for South Africa?" Ethan asked, following him inside.

"I always get it confused with South America. Dial for me? I'll deal with them," he added, knowing how Ethan hated to talk to the other countries' leaders.

Ethan gave a nod and dialled the numbers quickly, listening to make sure it was dialling before handing the handset back to Zach. The first words that came from the South African leader were swear words, threatening the caller's manhood for calling at 3 in the morning. Zach set his jaw, pissed off at being talked to that way.

"Look, you spineless little shit, I don't care if it's 3 in the morning! If you don't get up this instant, you and your entire country will die in a blaze of flames, got it?" he snarled. "Now get everyone under your command to hose off the Walls, or I'll set the fire myself and watch as you burn, you fucking shit. Do you understand me?"

There was a stammered apology at the other end of the line as the leader realised just who he'd pissed off, ending with a scrambled promise to get the Walls sprayed immediately.

"You have five minutes, then you're going to die," Zach said, slamming the phone down on the receiver harshly.

"He should really learn to look at caller ID before swearing like that," Ethan murmured, shaking his head.

It wasn't the first time Zach and the South African leader had butt heads over something like this. In fact, Ethan suspected that the whole reason Paul had been sent to take control over South Africa was so that Zach wouldn't kill him.

"That fucking wanker. I should burn his house down anyway," Zach muttered, glaring at the phone.

"You'd have to get to South Africa to do that," Ethan pointed out. "And Skip's refused to fly you anywhere again if you don't sit still."

"I know. I'll take one of the jet packs this time," Zach said with a shrug.

"Great, I'll go start writing your eulogy, shall I?"

"Okay. Tell everyone I was brilliant, and good looking, and that you'll never have sex again because no one could ever compare to me."

"Nice to see you're both so concerned about Blossom," Warren drawled, rolling his eyes.

"Is she all right?" Zach asked immediately, ignoring his barb.

"Getting better. Seems like whatever you said to the South African leader worked; the Walls are being sprayed down now," he replied, nodding to the screens behind them.

Zach turned around, grinning when he saw that Paul, the leader of South Africa, and a super with the ability to be a human hose, was there along with everyone else drenching the Walls. While others were holding actual hoses, Paul had his hands splayed in front of him, water spraying forth from his body.

"Yeah, you keep spraying that Wall, you incompetent bastard," Zach muttered.

"You two don't get on, I assume?" Warren asked, smirking.

"Not at all. Even after four apologies," Ethan added. "Kept trying to kill each other during practice. Paul kept getting blinded, Zach kept getting sick from being drenched all the time. It was never ending... Until Paul went to South Africa, at least," he added with a shrug.

"Right. Well, I guess absence doesn't make the heart fonder in your case."

"Absence makes the heart want to go stamp on the fucker's head and blind him permanently. Got a problem with that?"

"Did it look like I had a problem with it?" Warren asked, grinning over his shoulder as he headed back into the lab to see how Blossom was faring.

Zach shook his head and went into the lab with Ethan. Blossom was sitting up, her body covered in sweat, but she was talking, and seemed to be otherwise okay. She smiled at them briefly, thanking them for helping her.

"I'll have to change the Wall's plants over soon. The weed killer weakened it to the point where the toxins are going to get back in to South Africa again. I'll have a chat with Paul in the morning to ensure he gets things under control," she muttered.

"It's his last chance; if he doesn't work it out this time, then I'll be sending an extraction team, and we'll have to think of a suitable replacement."

"While you're thinking of a replacement, I've got just the person to be a substitute," Zach said, grinning. "Johnny Parker. He thinks he's ready for the big leagues, but he doesn't understand what it's really like outside of the Lab when you're on this side of the Wall," he added.

The Mad Professor nodded briefly. "I'll send him to South Africa first thing in the morning. Let's hope that it will provide some sense to the boy. Until I've got a suitable replacement for Paul, he'll have to do."

"Excellent idea. If you don't mind, we'll get going now," Zach said, taking Ethan's hand and pulling him out before he could say anything.

They were both silent as they walked the halls of the Lab, and it wasn't until they were in their apartment that Ethan turned on Zach, his expression fierce.

"Look, I know you're probably not happy with what I did, but I know how worried you are about the challenge, and doing this is easier to get rid of him than me killing him for hurting you again," Zach said quickly, wanting to get his two cents in before Ethan yelled at him.

Ethan's fierce expression faded almost immediately and he kissed Zach eagerly, pulling him towards their bedroom.

"Thank you, Blaze."

"No problem, Molten," he replied between kisses, grinning brightly.

Zach was more than happy to let Ethan show his gratitude for the rest of the night. And half of the next day, if he so desired.

...

End of the third chapter.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!


	4. Simon - Speed

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sky High.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_...

...

Chapter Four

...

_Two weeks later_

The television was an explosion of noise, bright colours, and frightened screams, but Simon couldn't bring himself to turn it down. He hadn't managed to get any tickets to attend Warren's first challenge against the rest of the seventh tier recruits, so he was forced to watch it at home. Not that he was really complaining; he had a damn nice couch and the food was better than the crap served at the arena's anyway. Seeing Warren fighting on screen made him think of their younger days, back at Sky High. Of course, due to his allegiance with Royal Pain, Simon had missed out on his senior year at Sky High. He'd spent a year in Maxville's Super Penitentiary, stuck listening to Penny's crying, whining, and bitching, depending on which Penny was actually present. One afternoon, Lash had instigated a fight with him, just so they'd get solitary instead of having to listen to Penny for another minute. Speed still had the scar on his shoulder.

The fight ended soon enough, most of the seventh tier recruits needing hospitalisation for their injuries, but Simon had seen some of them and figured they could use the humility that came with being bested by one person. There'd probably be a few threats directed at Warren once they were released from hospital, but he had no doubt that the flame-wielding man would be able to handle it. Hourglass had told him as much, and he trusted her completely.

The Mad Professor and Blossom's reign was nearing on five years now, and for that time, he'd been married for three. If someone had told his younger self that he'd be married at the age of 23, he'd have laughed and herded them off the edge of the closest cliff. He knew what he was: an overweight bully who had one friend, and had more chance of becoming a hero than ever getting a date. His confidence had relied on his need to be needed, to be deemed useful, there was nothing about being useful when it came to love and lust. (_Round 'em up, Speed... I'm joining with Gwen, Speed, and you're coming with me... Heroes or villains? Always pick villains_...)

Sometimes, Simon couldn't believe that she'd agreed to marry him, let alone that she'd dated him in the first place. She was older than him by 16 years, but the age difference had never really bothered him. Hourglass was gorgeous, and Simon had been terrified at first that he'd be too immature for her. (_She'd worried that he was going to leave her for a pretty young thing, and he'd been tempted to laugh at the very idea of him willingly leaving her. Instead, he'd admitted his own fears, and she'd kissed him until he backed her against the closest surface and proved her just how much he loved her, wanted her, needed her. And __**not**__ because she was useful_.)

He'd proposed to her on their third year anniversary, the ring cheaper than he'd've liked, and the setting of Chinese takeout over a rented movie not the most romantic in the world. But she'd said yes. Her father had been sceptical, not knowing why a man of his age would want to marry a woman of Honey's age, but her mother had been more than welcoming. She had baked cookies to celebrate, Honey laughing in his ear that it had been a family thing since her childhood, when she'd demanded cookies for her birthday instead of cake. He'd been ridiculously honoured that her mother had been so accepting as to include him in the cookie tradition. They had a towering platter of cookies at their wedding reception, Honey pitching one at Blossom's head and blaming him, all the while laughing gloriously.

Simon turned the television off, the ads irritating him, and he got up to go find Hourglass. She'd volunteered to escort Johnny Parker to South Africa, and the return flight should have landed already. Heading straight to the helicopter pad, Simon saw that the helicopter was only just landing. The Mad Professor disembarked from the helicopter and Simon went still immediately, just as a lower tier should. The Mad Professor didn't even nod to him as he passed, muttering something about a sample of weed killer. Blossom and Honey came out next, talking to each other loudly over the noise of the chopper. He kept still until Blossom noticed him and gave a nod, grinning slightly as she stepped back. Racing forward, Simon gathered Honey in a hug, kissing her.

"You sure know how to make a girl feel wanted," she said, grinning at him. "We're going to Blossom's for dinner tomorrow night, and I'll tell you about South Africa then. Blossom, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to let my husband ravish me now."

"Not at all. Please, go be ravished," Blossom said with a laugh, waving them off.

"See you tomorrow night, Blossom," Speed said in farewell, racing away before anyone could stop them.

By the time he reached the apartment, Honey was laughing in his arms (it was addicting, her laugh. He really had to tell her that sometime). Moving until she was standing, Honey wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him eagerly. Simon struggled to open the door, but managed it eventually, his hands moving to catch her before she fell onto the floor. Honey sighed, murmuring something against his lips that he didn't quite hear, and kicked the door closed behind them.

...

Honey, looking and feeling thoroughly ravished, pressed a light kiss to Simon's lips before leaving her resting husband to go in search of cookies._ If her mother knew what cookies meant to her __**now**__, she might not bake them for her anymore_, Honey thought with a laugh. _Not quite on par with sex, but a nice bonus afterwards_...

A few minutes later, when Simon came out of the bedroom in a pair of boxers, she was seated at the kitchen bench, finishing her third cookie. _He was meant to go past, steal a cookie on the way, kiss her and go to the kitchen to make them coffee_. She nudged the stool next to her and Simon chose to sit down rather than continue with the future he'd planned on, his hand slipping into hers and his free hand going for a cookie. Her eyes fluttered at the change, her power feeding on the remaining energy from a future that no longer happened, her body trembling in delight. _Now __**that**__ was on par with sex_.

Most people assumed that Hourglass' power was foresight, and thought of her as nothing but a seer who had been misplaced on the third tier. However, as many had found out when fighting her, Hourglass' power was so much more than that. She had the ability to drain a person's projected future by changing events so that the particular thread she'd seen would never come to pass. The possible future left remnants of power, of a world unseen and no longer needed, and somehow she used that energy to increase her power and foresight strength; a continual drain of power sucking away power, until she deemed it otherwise. Simon knew that his wife was damned dangerous, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Feeling better now?" he asked, grinning at her as her tight grip lessened on his hand.

"Perfect," she replied, kissing his hand gently.

They returned to their cookies in a comfortable silence, Honey leaning her head against Simon's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her. He decided that his life simply couldn't get any better, even with the impending realisation that Warren would have to challenge both of them to reach the second tier.

...

Dinner the next night at Blossom's proved just how restless the South African country was becoming. Things seemed to have settled slightly after the Mad Professor's appearance with Blossom by his side, but Simon learned of the assassination attempt and somewhat exploded about being left in the dark about it. Hourglass had been wearing a bulletproof vest and had taken the shot meant for Blossom, explaining why the helicopter was late, but Simon hadn't cared about the timing of the transport, only that his wife had been shot at yet no one had told him. Blossom and Hourglass were both quiet, knowing that they were in the wrong, and next to the former, Warren sat awkwardly and tried to keep eating his dinner. Simon couldn't eat another bite, his appetite long gone and his stomach turning at the thought of Honey almost_dying_, and left a few moments later.

When Hourglass returned to their apartment later that night, Simon was three sheets to the wind, sitting on the couch and staring at a blank television screen, as if the very image of Honey's almost-death was playing on repeat before his eyes. He was glad she was alive, that the shooter was an idiot who couldn't aim for shit, he recognised that despite how drunk he was, but Simon couldn't help but feel betrayed somehow. His wife had been shot at, and not even the news had covered the attempt on her life. An argument, heated and fast, shot between them, ending with Simon going to their room and slamming the door shut.

In the morning, with a hangover worthy of the three bottles of vodka he'd drunk, Simon blearily made his way out of the bedroom. Barely making it to the bathroom to throw up half of the alcohol - it burned worse on the way up than it did on the way down - Simon sat on the floor, cold and his body trembling. As his power burned through him quickly, it took a lot more to get him drunk than any other super (except maybe Warren. He'd have to ask him one day), but that also meant that Simon paid for it even more dearly than others too. Groaning in pain when a soft knock sounded at the bathroom door, he blinked up with red eyes as the door opened to reveal Honey, washcloth in one hand and a large glass of juice in another. He was too exhausted to tell her to go, and she moved beside him, gently cleaning his face between offered sips of juice.

"The news didn't cover the shooting because I refused to let them. The South African rebels are getting too much attention and power over the citizens as it is, and by broadcasting this, it would only encourage more attention to them," Honey explained quietly.

Simon looked away, clenching his fist. "I don't care about the coverage, Honey. Why didn't _you tell me?_"

"If you'll remember, we didn't exactly have much time for talking after I got off the helicopter," she said, grinning briefly.

"That's never stopped you before... And we had all morning, why did I have to find out about it at dinner with Blossom of all people?"

She sighed, resting back on her haunches. "If I'd told you about it before the dinner, we would have argued about it all day. Telling you last night gave you a chance to come back, mull over it, and drink yourself away without the risk of being red-rosed. I was not going to let you get harmed because of something that I'd done wrong in the first place," Honey said firmly. "And before you say anything, yes, I realise it was wrong not to tell you straight away, but to be honest, I just wanted to hold you and be held by you. Being shot at is not a fun experience, and I had to keep laughing just so I wouldn't cry. I didn't want to scare you either, or you'd've done something ridiculous like refuse to let me leave the country again."

Simon, who had been thinking of something along those lines, reddened slightly and decided not to voice his thoughts.

"Now, you can yell at me again if you like, but I would prefer it if we did that out in the dining room. The basin might get broken if we stay in here," Honey said.

He didn't bother asking how, just nodded and left to the dining room, thinking of everything he wanted to say. Honey would let him say it all without interruption, that Simon knew from experience, and he appreciated it, even if he was upset with her. He waited until Honey was sitting across from him to start talking.

"I'm still angry that you didn't tell me about it this morning. I can understand about last night, when you were emotional enough to want the same sort of connection, but we were fully clothed all morning, and you didn't say a thing! Instead, I find out at dinner with Blossom that you were shot at! You didn't trust me to contain myself long enough to get through a dinner? Even if you'd told me yesterday morning, I would've had all day to get over it, instead of being hit with the news last night. I'm not even sure that I care that I found out about it that late after it had happened, just that _you didn't tell me_. Why did you let me find out through Blossom, why didn't **you **tell me? You could've interrupted her or something, and told me yourself! I had to find out through Blossom, instead of you! You're my wife, and you didn't even think to tell me the news yourself?!"

"Of course I thought about telling you!" Honey said, interrupting him. "It's all I wanted to do all morning! I was trying to think of the best way of telling you that I'd been shot at, without sounding like a complete idiot and breaking down. I was _terrified_, Simon; terrified that I'd lose you over this, and I still am. There's so many futures that end with my death, and at least six of them are a result of this damn argument! I wanted to delay that, to spend as much time with you as possible. I thought I was going to die, and I didn't want you to do something to hurt yourself!"

Simon was silent for a moment, a sigh escaping him. Honey looked on the verge of tears, yet he knew that she was telling the truth. She'd never once lied to him, not even to stretch the truth once or twice. Honey was truthful and blunt to a fault, which was probably one of the reasons that so many people had loathed her when she was younger.

"I'm glad you didn't die," he said, looking at her. "I just need some time to work the rest of it off. I'm going to the track; I'll be back later," Simon said.

He moved forward, pressing a light kiss to Honey's cheek before leaving their apartment. When the door closed, Simon ran down to the track, his legs moving faster than most could see. He managed five laps in less than a minute, and continued running long after he lost count of his laps. Even as his power began to lessen, his legs no longer moving as fast as before, Simon continued to run.

It was only when the track's lights turned on that Simon realised how late it was, and he finally stopped running, his hands on his knees as he tried to remember how to breathe.

"Another lap or two and I would've called the ambulance."

"Very funny," he breathed, not looking over at Honey.

"I wasn't joking. I was coming down to stop you. Come and sit," Honey offered, moving over to the bleachers.

Simon struggled to follow, his heart pounding against his chest. Seemed he must have really overdone it this time around. He took the bottle of water that Honey offered gratefully, drinking it all in a matter of seconds. He continued to take deep breaths, and slowly felt his heart become steady once more.

"Are you all right, Simon?" Honey asked when he didn't say anything.

Everything that he'd been thinking as he'd done laps went out of his mind, and Simon just sighed wearily. "I'm exhausted, Honey... I just wish you'd told me yourself. Next time, no matter what, promise that _you'll _tell me yourself if something like that happens again?"

"I promise. I don't plan on being shot at again, Simon. But there's always a strong possibility of..."

Her words were cut off by Simon's lips pressing against hers. "Don't tell me in advance. You _know _what happens when people know something too early in advance," he muttered, pulling away gently.

"Kings send away children only to be killed by them years later, a fate which might have been avoided had the child stayed at home," Honey murmured, shaking her head.

"Come on, Honey, let's go home," Simon said, taking her hand and leading her back up to the Lab's apartment block, too tired to run them up there himself.

They were silent as they made their way up to their apartment, but Simon didn't let go of Honey, which she took as a positive sign. When the door closed behind her, Honey went to say something, to apologise, to promise that she'd tell him next time even if he hated her for it. Simon seemed to have a different idea, his lips pressing against hers once more, backing her against the door and kissing her as if his life depended on it. When he pulled away, their lips swollen, Honey blinked at him a few times, surprised. _She hadn't expected that_. The rush of power, of the changed future and present that Simon had instigated almost made her moan, and she clung to him tightly.

"Come on, let's go to bed. I'm going to have a shower first," Simon added with a grimace.

"I'll join you, if you like?" Honey offered, a wicked gleam in her eye.

Simon grinned and nodded, kissing her briefly. He watched his wife head towards the bathroom, his grin slipping. He hadn't completely forgiven her, but as with her need to hold him, to love him after being shot at, Simon didn't want to waste another second arguing. He could have lost her, and the thought of Honey hurting herself - or _him _hurting her - terrified him. He knew that he would forgive her eventually, and with that knowledge, Simon also knew that there was no point in arguing continuously between now and when that actually happened. Honey had promised to tell him if anything like that happened to her again, and for now, that would have to be enough until they reached the time when he forgave her completely.

Taking off his shirt, Simon followed Honey's progress into the bathroom, her clothes leaving a trail for him to follow. Already in the shower, Honey opened the door, steam pouring out of the enclosure. Simon stepped inside a moment later, grinning at her. She knew that he hadn't forgiven her entirely, but Honey was more than glad that he'd decided not to spend their time arguing until he **did** forgive her. It was a compromise that she was more than willing to accept; threads of a future that would no longer happen slipped away - _she threw herself off the Lab's pristine white wall, Simon's screams following her descent as he realised that he could never reach her in time_. It circled the drain, disappearing with the water, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Simon kissed Honey once more, his hands sliding down her sides. He planned on teasing her mercilessly until she begged for him, laughing her gloriously addicting laugh just for him. It probably wasn't much, and most people wouldn't understand, but for him, it meant more than the world.

...

End of the fourth chapter.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!


	5. Ethan - Molten

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sky High.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_...

...

Ethan remembered everything. Even if he didn't take copious notes and write lengthy journal entries about his days - both before and after joining the Mad Professor - he would still remember everything. He remembered his mother's face, and his father's disappointment when he told them that he was gay. He remembered being kicked out of the house - the same house he'd lived in since leaving the hospital at his birth - his father shouting that he was no son of theirs, and his mother sobbing in the background, but unable to stand up to her husband. He remembered the rage he felt, the heartache, the terror that had enveloped him as he realised that he was homeless at the age of 16 because of his sexual orientation. Ethan remembered the weight of his backpack on his shoulders as he walked away from his childhood home. He remembered every inch of that house, even two years later, when he stood before it, hand in hand with Zach, both of them watching as flames enveloped the structure until it became nothing more than ash. He still remembered his parents' screams.

The year of his parents' deaths was the same year that the Mad Professor and Blossom took control of the world. In the months leading up to their takeover, it wasn't difficult to see that something was happening in the super community; to know that something was brewing beneath the surface, patiently waiting for the right time. Even if the teachers' hadn't looked stressed in the halls of Sky High, an abundance of grey hairs and worry lines appearing on their faces, it would have been obvious from the way that the Commander and Jetstream acted. They seemed to take more and more time outside of Maxville's borders, conducting hushed meetings with black-clad officials who didn't have names and unfortunately, didn't know more than anyone who wasn't affiliated with the evildoers. The Commander and Jetstream even took Will out of school for weeks at a time, intent on training him should they fail. (They failed. And so did he.)

It had taken some cajoling, a little bribing, and a few whispered threats, but Ethan finally discovered the source of the rumours, soon finding himself standing in front of Mr. Medulla and Layla, wondering just how he'd never seen it before. When he was there, seeing the cold look in their eyes as they assessed him, Ethan had never felt so stupid. _Of course it was them; there was no one else it __**could**__ have been_.

He'd brought Zach along with him the next time they'd had a training session (_never call it anything other than a training session. It's an extracurricular activity, that's all_), and while the Mad Professor and Blossom hadn't been entirely happy, they'd soon agreed to take Zach on as well. They rose through the ranks quickly, surprising most, including themselves. Ethan's pent up emotions about his parents had increased his power to the point where he could turn into a clear pool of liquid, touch someone and drain every drop of water from their body, sliding away without a single injury most times. His elasticity while changing from his solid to liquid form had been discovered accidentally, Ethan lunging to knock someone down in the middle of his transformation. (He'd been so angry at the sight of Wendy Walker taunting Zach before the session had even started that he hadn't cared that she wasn't his opponent and had just **lunged**. He'd been promoted from the sixth to the fourth tier in the hierarchy as a result of that attack, so Ethan couldn't bring himself to care.)

From there, time seemed to fly. When the world was all but given to the Mad Professor and Blossom, Ethan was sitting comfortably on the fourth tier with Zach. The first wave of toxins had done their job, showing the world just how serious they were about their threats, and then the second wave had been released by the heroes who thought they were saving the world. They had control over the world in a matter of months, but that didn't mean things were smooth sailing. Groups had been selected for their skills, rather than their position in the hierarchy, and sent out in the dead of the night to deal with threats. Ethan remembered all of the names, faces, and ways he'd killed the people. There had been politicians, environmentalists, biologists, geologists, physicists, farmers; all manner of class, race, and gender. If Hourglass deemed them a threat - whether that threat was imminent or would come later in the future - Ethan and his team made sure that they'd never have that chance. They didn't kill children, _Hourglass murmuring something about a parent's deadly revenge for their child_, but those children were kept under observation to ensure that they wouldn't be a threat later in life.

With the threats finally dealt with, Ethan and Zach returned to the Lab, and were awarded with promotions to the third tier by Blossom and the Mad Professor himself. Ethan was proud of their rise through the ranks, was proud of their ability and reign, and didn't regret what he'd done in order to get there. Although, sometimes the nightmares - _the memories_ - became too much, and Ethan had to get a concoction from the Mad Professor to help him sleep through the night.

"Warren's issued his challenges to the fourth tier this morning," Zach said as Ethan made his way into their apartment.

"Already? I thought he was only released from hospital yesterday?" Ethan muttered, looking to the TV screen to see the news broadcast.

"He was, but it looks like he _really_ doesn't want to wait. Warren's getting stronger with all of this practice," he added, sounding worried.

"Well, it's a given. You remember how strong we were when we came back to the Lab in the beginning?" Ethan asked with a slight grin.

Zach snorted. "Of course I do. You sent the whole apartment block dry _by accident_. It was a whole three days before Tempest could gather enough clouds to fill up the tanks again."

"Speak of the devil, there she is. Tempest looks _pissed_," Ethan muttered, nodding to the TV screen, showing Tempest's reaction as she received the green envelope.

"Of course she is. She _still_ hasn't apologised for everything she did as Wendy Walker, and I'm pretty sure that a few of those apologies have Warren's name on them," Zach said, grinning.

"Want to go watch their fight in the arena, or stay in and record it?" Ethan asked, already thinking of who owed him a favour so he could score their tickets.

"I'd rather watch Warren and Speed. I want to see how he goes when he has no way of making Speed slip up," Zach replied, grinning.

"No sideline interference," he replied, sternly reminding him of what had happened the last time Zach had 'accidentally' flashed in the middle of a fight.

"I won't bet on them, that way I won't be inclined to do anything."

Ethan nodded, but after the last time, he wasn't inclined to believe Zach. There was a knock at the door, and muttering under his breath about medical bills and thorns in their bed, Ethan went to answer it. There was no one there, but an envelope was lying on the doormat without any flowers, so he figured it was from Speed. Taking the envelope inside, Ethan opened it to find two tickets for Speed and Warren's fight, courtesy of Hourglass. He threw the envelope to Zach, picking up his phone to call Hourglass. Waiting a moment, Ethan dialled Hourglass and Speed's number.

"I thought I'd let you call me this time," Hourglass said with a smile when she answered the phone.

"Thanks, I think I'm still getting over last time," Ethan said, grinning. "Thank you for the tickets. Zach's looking forward to it," he added, moving into the bedroom and away from Zach's excited noise.

"I'm not; I'll be in the hospital once it's over," she said, sighing.

"Thanks for the tip. I won't tell Zach that."

"No, you'd better not. Either way, I'm going to forfeit my challenge. Simon's not going to be in the best shape after this one, and with my frame of mind, I might do something I regret. Make sure I keep to that, would you, Molten?"

"Sure thing. I'll make sure you stay with Speed, no matter what," Ethan promised.

Hourglass sighed in relief, thanking him before hanging up.

"What'd she say? Give any tips on who's going to win?" Zach asked eagerly when he returned to the lounge room.

"Not a thing," Ethan said, shrugging. "You're just going to have to wait. And I'll be checking the bank account very clearly. You're not spending a cent on this challenge, understood?" he said, glaring.

"I already apologised for that," Zach muttered.

"But I still haven't forgiven you. Two months of saving, and you went and spent our holiday money in one hour!" Ethan groused.

"You've taken away my bank privileges, so there's no chance of me betting on anything," Zach pointed out.

"Please, sometimes I think you'd rob a bank just to gamble it away."

"Aw, don't say that. You know I couldn't do that, even if I wanted to," Zach said, pouting at him.

"Yes, I know. Blossom made sure of that. Luckily for you, or I would have kicked your lousy butt to the kerb years ago," Ethan said, kissing him.

Zach just grinned beneath his lips and didn't reply.

...

Both Warren and Speed were evenly matched. They'd grown since their days at Sky High, and not just in size. Speed was able to run so fast that the ground itself vibrated, but Warren had been training with the desperation of survivors. He could conjure a thread of flames and use it as a whip, fire wrapping around his intended victim tighter than a lasso.

Speed was fast, outrunning the advancing flames easily at first. Realising that he was outrunning the fire _too easily_, Ethan sat forward on his chair and watched intently, hoping to get some pointers for his own challenge that was sure to come next. He didn't have long to wait (Hourglass stood up in a matter of seconds, hurrying down to the arena's exit, not caring what anyone said when she passed in front of their view), and Ethan watched as a barrage of fireballs surrounded Speed quickly. One landed in front of him, another behind him, one on either side, and as Speed was trapped with no way out, it became all too obvious that Warren's aim had improved exponentially in his years since Sky High.

A bright flash of lightning accompanied the final blow of the whistle, proclaiming Warren as the winner. Ethan vaguely noticed that Tempest was leaving the arena as fast as possible, a wind whipping at her and pushing her along. He looked over to the exit where Hourglass was waiting for Speed anxiously. Warren made the mistake of going to leave the arena first, and Hourglass rose to her full height, preparing to launch herself at him. Remembering his promise, Ethan melted in a second, moved across the arena as fast as he could, reforming in front of Warren a millisecond before Hourglass landed on him. He was covered in Hourglass' body a moment later, and Ethan melted both of them down, waiting until Warren had left to reform again.

"Thank you, Molten," Hourglass murmured, tears in her eyes as she followed Simon's stretcher out to the hospital.

"Hey, man. What was all of that about?" Zach asked, jogging over to where Ethan was leaning against the arena's railing.

"Hourglass made me promise that she wouldn't hurt Warren," Ethan replied. "She fought against me when we were melted, even after I reminded her of that," he added with a wince.

"Come on, let's go home. I'll fix you a drink," Zach murmured, putting his arm around Ethan and helping him stand.

Leaning heavily on Zach, Ethan let him lead him back to their apartment. When they were inside, Ethan collapsed on the bed, Zach leaving to get him a large bottle of water. He finished it in a matter of minutes, but his whole body still felt drained, and he soon fell asleep. Zach tiptoed out of the room to leave Ethan to sleep off his exhaustion.

...

"Come on, Zach. It's about to start!" Ethan called over his shoulder.

"Fine, but next ad, you get the popcorn," Zach said, sitting down and putting his arm around Ethan's shoulders.

"No way, I got it last time. It's your turn."

"Rock for it?"

"Fine... But we're going to have to figure out another way to solve these things one day," Ethan muttered, holding out his fist.

"You always say that," Zach replied with a grin, holding out his fist too.

"Rock, paper, scissors," they said in unison, keeping one eye on the TV screen.

"Ha! Scissors beats paper. I win, you get the popcorn!" Ethan crowed, laughing.

"Best out of three?" Zach asked with a pout.

"Not a chance. Come on, they're about to start," he said, turning his full attention back to the TV again.

"Oh, hey. There's Blossom," Zach pointed out, seeing the redhead clearly on the screen. "How come we never get invited to the second tier's box? She's got the best view, and it's only her in there."

"Because we're third tier, not second. We're lucky we still get invited to dinners after what you did the first time around."

"Well, waiters shouldn't sneak up on people like that! It's not my fault the guy was hospitalised," Zach groused.

"You made him have a seizure and then stabbed him for good measure," Ethan said, rolling his eyes.

"I was _nervous_. How was I to know that Blossom had invited the Mad Professor for dinner?"

A loud roll of thunder came from the TV as well as outside of their apartment, quietening the men quickly. The sky, which had been bright blue and clear only minutes before, was now dark with black clouds.

On the screen, a large gaping hole was shown in the arena, the commentator saying that Tempest had sent a bolt of lightning at Ignite. Warren looked a little singed, but had managed to dodge the lightning bolt at the last second before it hit. His boots had thick rubber soles and he had been able to escape the electrical charge too. Warren sent a few fireballs at Wendy, and for a moment it looked as though he had her surrounded. Then the black clouds started pouring rain, dousing the flames and drenching everyone in the arena too.

"People do not look happy down here, folks! As you'll all know, Tempest is strong, but not known for her ability to control her power as precisely as some in the Lab. Ignite's control is greater than that, but will his fire power be able to withstand her elemental one?" the commentator asked, the camera panning out to see Warren trying to light his arms up.

"Come on! You have to do better than this!" Zach called at the screen, as if Warren could hear him.

"I don't think he's listening to you," Ethan said with a laugh.

Zach swatted at him, his eyes never leaving the screen. He groaned in annoyance when an advertisement started and reluctantly went to microwave the popcorn.

"Butter on mine," Ethan called.

A few minutes later, Zach returned with two bowls of popcorn, one covered in butter and the other in icing sugar. Ethan nicked a piece from Zach's bowl with a grin.

"If you're going to steal, you have to share," Zach muttered, taking a small handful from Ethan's bowl.

"I took one! You took a handful!" Ethan protested, grabbing a handful from Zach's bowl before he could protest.

"Hey, give that back!"

"And we're back," the commentator said, now dressed in a raincoat.

Zach stopped trying to take Ethan's bowl and looked at the screen again, Ethan chuckling as he grabbed a few more pieces of popcorn under Zach's oblivious nose.

"We're live at the Lab's arena where Tempest is sending down a torrent of rain. Ignite isn't the only one who looks annoyed about this!" he added, the camera looking to the crowd.

Most people had come with umbrellas, but the wind was picking up and the umbrellas looked to be useless against the wind and heavy pelting rain.

"I'm glad we didn't get tickets for this one," Ethan muttered, Zach nodding in agreement.

"Hang on. What's Ignite trying to do now?" the commentator asked in confusion.

The camera hurried to go back to the arena where Warren was sending fireballs directly up, rather than at Tempest. Again, the camera followed the direction of the fire, and they could all see that there was a small black cloud hovering above the arena. As they watched, the fireballs that were sent into the cloud became larger still and the cloud _shuddered_.

"What the hell?" Ethan muttered, sitting on the edge of the lounge in anticipation.

"He can't be doing this, can he?" Zach asked, his voice awed.

"I have no idea," he replied.

They both kept their voices down, as if speaking too loudly would ruin whatever Warren was doing.

Somehow, the fireballs kept getting larger rather than smaller - Ethan wondered exactly what Warren was thinking of to get his power to increase each time - and soon, Warren was sending up two at a time, the cloud shuddering precariously. As the camera panned out to show the cloud in its entirety, Ethan noticed that the black mass was actually _shrinking_.

"Fucking hell," Zach whispered, realising the same thing a moment later.

"It seems that the cloud that Tempest created is shrinking due to the heat from Ignite's fireballs. Let's see how Tempest is holding up, shall we?" the commentator asked.

A second camera view came on directly next to the footage of the shrinking cloud, and it was obvious even through the screen that Wendy was not taking the assault well. She looked pale, and the determination that had been in her face earlier was replaced with a look of nausea. The cloud was less than half its original size now, and she was pale, swaying on her feet. Wendy clenched her hands, and the cloud began to evaporate. The moment the cloud disappeared, Warren threw another fireball, but this one was directed at Wendy. She looked tired of fighting, and her pale features hadn't changed even after the cloud's absence. Ethan thought that she was just going to let herself get hit by the oncoming fireball. She threw her hands in front of her body at the last moment, a gust of wind blowing the ball of fire away.

"That was close. A deliberate decoy, perhaps?" the commentator mused.

"Remind me to send a bunch of red roses to this idiot commentator just to freak him out," Zach muttered, muting the TV.

Ethan chuckled and gave a brief nod before returning his attention to the screen once more.

Warren had now exchanged his fireballs for a fiery whip and Tempest was barely dodging the line of fire each time it swung around. He was herding her back against the arena's wall with a mixture of his fiery whip and fireballs from his free hand, and it wasn't long before Tempest was surrounded by fire. She still looked unsteady on her feet, her pale skin looked clammy, and just as a whip flung towards her, Tempest passed out.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking me!" Zach said, jumping off the lounge in a mix of disbelief and anger.

The bowl of popcorn, which had been long forgotten, fell out of his lap at the sudden motion and spilled over the floor in a mess of sugar and popped kernels. Zach groaned in annoyance and looked to Ethan, his lips forming a pout.

"Don't give me that look, you know where the broom is," Ethan said with a snicker, crossing his legs under his body.

Turning the volume up, Ethan watched the last few minutes of the show. Warren had to push past the crowd to get away from their eager cries and desperate pleas for more. He shoved the last hand away before jogging down into the change room, away from the media and screaming fans.

"Looks like people are really warming up to Warren," Ethan muttered.

"Ha, warming up," Zach echoed, laughing.

"What do you think about inviting Blossom and Warren over for dinner tomorrow night?" he asked, surprising Zach enough to make him drop the broom.

"Yeah, okay. Why?" he asked, hurrying to pick the broom up and continue sweeping.

"Just figured they might appreciate the time together without trying to justify it to everyone else all the time."

"Blossom and Warren? You really think so? I mean, I know they were together at Sky High for a while, but that was _years_ ago."

"Blossom was in Warren's change room just now. She was off to the side, so the camera didn't catch all of her, but I recognised the green dress. She wore it to the museum's opening night two years ago."

"The green one with the red vines running along it? I remember that one, she threatened to red-rose me if I compared her to a marble statue again," Zach said, grinning.

"I'm fairly sure that Blossom would hold you to that threat, so don't mention it tomorrow night, okay?" Ethan muttered.

"Sure, I won't. Wonder what she was doing in his change room anyway."

Ethan shook his head briefly. He remembered all too well the way Warren and Blossom felt after fighting, even if they'd fought with each other. Ethan had looked for them after one spectacular fight (the Picasso burning away in the corner, and he could still remember the smell of the paint as the flames consumed it), only to discover Warren screwing Blossom against the back of the lounge, her hair spilling over his shoulder as she hooked her legs around his waist and screamed his name. He had no doubt that they were doing something similar now. (He was right.)

"All right, popcorn's cleaned up. Want to watch anything else, or are you ready for bed?" Zach asked with a slight yawn.

"Bed sounds good," Ethan agreed, kissing Zach lightly before leaving to get ready for bed.

Licking his lips with a grin, Zach headed to their bedroom.

...

As he slept, Ethan's nightmares reigned. He was plagued with faces of the dead, of heroes and villains alike, of citizens and civilians, all of them running after him for revenge. They always caught him, whether he was melted or standing, and he died screaming. Sometimes they froze his melted body (a trick that Tempest had attempted once and almost been red-rosed for); other times he was surrounded by fire (the flames licking at him like an ice cream, his body dying inch by excruciating inch); sometimes they stamped on him (a bruise for every single one of them, his liquid form spread across a road that never ended); and other times, it was a somewhat normal death (baseball bats, hammers, weapons, bullets). Every single time, he always died screaming, a name on his lips rather than a plea for mercy or death. Ethan had never seen Zach in his nightmares, but somehow, he knew that Zach was in there somewhere, in every single nightmare, and his beloved boyfriend was dying slowly as he was forced to watch Ethan's own demise. He died screaming for them to spare Zach, to heal him, to let him go, not caring for his own deserved death. Now was no different, and Ethan woke with a cry on his lips, only to see Zach sitting in the corner of the room, his body glowing softly.

Without a word, Zach got off the armchair, making his way over to the bed (Ethan thrashed about in his sleep, the nightmares making him physically fight, and Zach had tired of waking up with bruised arms trying to defend himself). He wrapped his arms around Ethan gently, their bare chests pressed against each other, Zach kissing Ethan slowly until he fell asleep again, no nightmares to plague him this time around. Ethan had never told him what the nightmares were about, but Zach could hazard a guess. In his sleep, Ethan moved closer to Zach, and he held him a little tighter, kissing his forehead once more before settling down to sleep as well.

...

End of the fifth chapter.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it.


	6. Wendy - Tempest

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sky High.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_...

...

Chapter Six

...

_One month later_

Wendy fought against Coach, trying to work on her control. Her fight with Warren was over but now that he'd challenged her and won, other recruits were looking to get further on the tiers too. She had no doubt that she'd wipe the floor with them (maybe literally, if she could just get the wind tunnel to move the right way) but it never hurt to get in some extra practice. Besides, Blossom made sure that everyone attended their mandatory sessions with Coach, and Wendy wasn't about to be red-rosed for missing one damn session.

"Concentrate!" Coach's voice was barely a whisper, but it held all of the rage of someone forced beneath his station, and truth be told, the sound terrified Wendy.

Working on making the atmosphere colder, Wendy tried to form a raincloud above Coach's head. It took almost three full minutes, but it was a personal best, and she held back a grin when she saw that he was getting drenched.

There were so many rumours about Coach, but despite being in the first 25 recruits, not even Wendy knew what was true. The time around Coach's ... _initiation_ was a blur, and after collaborating with some of the others, Wendy had no doubt that the vague memories were the result of the Mad Professor. She remembered Boomer fighting against the Mad Professor in the gym after discovering that their extra curricular sessions actually had nothing to do with the curriculum at Sky High. They'd fought for almost an hour, the Mad Professor seeming to conjure up potion after potion to throw at Coach, his lab jacket slicing through the air to block Boomer's sonic booms. It was obvious that they were tired by the time the hour neared; Boomer's booms were becoming somewhat wheezy and the Mad Professor wasn't so quick to block his sonic booms as time went on. (A man stuck teaching P.E. at a high school, no matter if it was one for superheroes, soon lost the level of fitness required for a superhero in the real world. The same could be said for a man teaching science, but the Mad Professor had been training with them for three months by then, and had been forced to keep up with the energy and stamina of 25 teenagers.) Then, just when Boomer drew in his chest for a final assault, the memory went hazy.

There was a flash of green or some sort of green light filtering into the gym (Zach refused to say anything even now 5 years later, which made most people suspicious, but Wendy had to wonder if he knew any more than the rest of them), and then Boomer was lying on the floor motionless, his body covered in burn marks from the Mad Professor's potions. Despite the extent of his injuries, he stood up and left the gym without a word. After that, he rarely talked and only ever answered to 'Coach'.

"Time's up," Coach said, stepping back out of the raincloud.

Wendy gave a nod, her eyes glancing over the burn marks still fresh on his skin - looking as if they'd never aged or faded since he'd received them all of those years ago - and made the cloud disappear.

She'd kept it up for about ten minutes, which wasn't too bad considering it was a sloppily made cloud and the rain only came in spurts. But either way, it would do in a pinch.

With her session finally over, Wendy left the arena quickly, intent on a long and hot shower. She didn't even bother to nod to the fifth tier recruits who stopped for her as she left. Heading straight for her apartment, Wendy shut the door behind her, the sound as loud as a strike of lightning.

"How was your session?" a voice queried from the kitchen.

"Wasn't bad. Made a new PB," she said with a shrug, heading to where her roommate was cooking dinner.

"Nice. Any plans for tonight?"

"Nothing so far. You?"

"Food, the cheesiest horror movie I can find, and more food."

"Sounds like a plan. Can I join you?"

"Only if help me heckle the characters."

"That's a given. I'm just going to have a shower first. How long'll dinner be?"

"It'll be done by the time you're out," Gwen Grayson said, smiling.

Giving her friend a nod, Wendy headed to the bathroom.

Royal Pain had been sentenced to serve a quintuple life sentence at Maxville's Super Penitentiary after trying to take over Sky High and kidnap the staff and students there. Mr. Medulla had promised that he had destroyed the Pacifier after he'd returned everyone to their normal ages, but he'd found that he actually couldn't. He would have if he could have, since he was still just a Mad Science teacher then, but due to the intricacies of the machine, the Pacifier was something that only Royal Pain could destroy. After he became the Mad Professor and the world was his for the taking, he and the 25 recruits broke into the Penitentiary to get more allies. Some people joined straight away, pledging their allegiance on bended knee and a potion shoved down their throat to ensure they complied; some refused to join with them (Baron Battle was one); others were refused no matter how hard they begged (Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, and Penny); and a select few were offered an ultimatum: pledge allegiance to the Mad Professor, be turned into babies and grow up to live in a world where the bad guys reigned, or die.

Of course, for those serving life sentences that spanned more than one life, they had to be turned into babies multiple times before their gaol cell would let them leave. Gwen had to go through the same pain that she'd forced upon the students and staff of Sky High four times over. The Mad Professor had reconfigured the Pacifier (about the only thing he could do thanks to that large brain of his) so that the prisoners going through the transformation were still able to speak. Rumour had it, Gwen begged to die after the third time, but if she did so, she'd never told Wendy. In an act of kindness, mercy, torture, or whatever other emotion spurred the Mad Professor to make decisions, he allowed the accepting prisoners to start their new lives at the age of 10. Forcing them through a second (or in Gwen's case, third) bout of puberty, one where their individual powers would be nurtured, free to use at any time, and harnessed properly (none of this Hero and Loser track), the Mad Professor had an even stronger army of recruits.

Most people with superpowers were forced to keep them hidden or play them down in order to fit in with citizens, but in this world, where supers reigned, no one had to pretend to be someone else. They could let loose and destroy an entire forest if they wished (someone had done this and Blossom had immediately red-rosed them, the plants springing to life from the ashes of the forest and crushing the girl to death).

Gwen, now aged 15, rarely showed signs of her megalomaniac past self. There were times when her emotions got the better of her and she threatened to rebuild the Pacifier. Then her face would go strangely calm and she'd sigh, mutter under her breath, and return to whatever she'd been doing before her meltdown. It was odd, but the happenstances weren't as frequent as they'd been when she first moved in with Wendy at age 11. All of the baby-fied recruits had been given to carers - most were selected, a few volunteered. Wendy volunteered; one look at that stubborn jaw set, the young girl's eyes burning with the same intensity as Gwen's had before she became Royal Pain, and she knew that she couldn't let her best friend be raised by anyone else. It was hard at times, and they argued with TVs breaking and lightning hitting the building, but they worked past their emotions and learnt to compromise with each other. The carers were given strict instructions on how to raise the children, how not to mollycoddle them, and to ensure that they were free to use their power in any way they wanted, so long as they were in a controlled environment. The last instruction was the main reason that Wendy's apartment had three rooms, two bedrooms and one room purely for Gwen to use her powers.

As the third room was full of pieces of metal, fibre optics, computer parts, machinery cogs and other bits and pieces that Gwen considered necessary to her fully utilise her powers (_junk, Gwen, it's called _**_junk_**), Wendy stayed out of that room for the most part. Of course, the camera installed in the room was an added deterrent. It was insulated or protected in some way, Wendy still wasn't quite sure, but Gwen wasn't able to affect it, much to her initial frustration. The camera checked up on Gwen to ensure she used her powers regularly, and if the Mad Professor or Blossom deemed a piece of junk unnecessary, the item was removed from the room immediately. (They'd almost lost the garbage disposal that way.)

Her shower finished, Wendy dried herself off and changed into her most comfortable pyjamas, heading back out to the lounge room. Gwen was already sitting on the couch, a bowl of lamb masala in her lap and a second next to her for Wendy.

"Hit me with it," she said, taking her dinner and sitting down, snuggling down into the couch comfortably.

"All right, we've got _Nightmare on 34th Street_, Christmas parody with Santa Claws," Gwen offered, a spread of DVDs before her. "_Chainsaw Texas Musical_; _Silent Notting Hill_; or my personal favourite, _28 Pays Later_."

"Please, that one's _boring_. It's just one person banking their pay cheque every week," Wendy said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, in the middle of a zombie-infested bank! If you don't get paid, you die! Come on, it's hilarious, and the one-liners are priceless!"

"Stop quoting the reviews off the cover. I'll force you to watch _Silent Notting Hill_," Wendy threatened.

Gwen visibly shuddered. "Whoever thought it was a good idea to mix hardcore horror with a sappy rom-com should be hit with lightning... Fine, _Chainsaw Texas Musical_ or _Nightmare on 34th Street_?"

"_Chainsaw Texas Musical_. We'll sing loudly, and I can work on a few lightning bolts when the really gruesome parts start."

"Sounds good to me. Should I enhance the entertainment system and point the speakers at the neighbour's wall?" Gwen asked, smirking.

"That would be evil, Gwen. Of course we should," Wendy said, grinning at her. "They kept me awake last weekend, so it's our turn now, even if I have to apologise tomorrow," she added.

Gwen laughed, and there was an electrical buzzing in the air a moment later, the speakers moving towards the walls on either side of the apartment.

"Oh, before I forget..." Gwen said, hurrying to swallow her mouthful when Wendy gave her a reproachful look. "We got tickets for Zach's fight against Warren tomorrow. Do you want to go, or trade them for Ethan against Warren?" Gwen asked.

Chewing, Wendy thought about it for a moment. Ethan's fight against Warren would be very interesting, seeing how his powers had changed since his days at Sky High. But it would remind her all too forcefully of her own fight, Wendy realised, belatedly noticing that the weather outside was growing darker.

"Stick with Zach and Warren. It'll be good to see how his lights affect someone who can control a source of light," Wendy said, nodding decisively.

"Okay, I'll set up the recorder for Ethan's fight then," Gwen said, holding no illusions as to why Wendy had chosen not to swap tickets.

"Let me know how it works out," she replied, slipping into silence as she finished her dinner.

Gwen followed by her example, and they were both quiet for the moment until they finished eating.

"Choc chip or triple choc?" Wendy asked, heading into the kitchen to get their ice cream.

"Triple choc, please Aunt Wendy," Gwen called sweetly, breaking into laughter soon after.

"I guess you're skipping this week's diet?" she asked, handing her the pint-sized tub and a spoon.

"Skipped last week's too, funny that," she said, scooping up a spoonful.

"We'll go to the gym tomorrow and pretend we've been there all week," Wendy said.

"Mm-hmm," Gwen mumbled around her spoon.

Picking up the DVD she threw it at the TV. A buzz of electricity came from her splayed hand, the TV screen disappearing momentarily, the DVD slotting into place, and the screen reappearing a moment later. The DVD started to play harmlessly, the TV not even showing a spot on the screen to show where it had been rearranged by Gwen's power.

"Show off much?" Wendy muttered, her eyebrow raised.

"It's the first showy thing I've done in years, Aunt Wendy. Besides, I've been practising that for a long time and wanted to make sure it worked."

"So is that the reason why our DVD collection's almost halved?" she asked pointedly, looking to the myriad of missing DVDs on the shelves.

"Kind of. I'm still working on getting the first test subjects back out of the old TVs without ruining them. This one should just eject though," Gwen hurried to reassure her.

"It better, or you're buying me a new TV."

Gwen paled slightly and nodded, her eyes wide and portraying innocence that hadn't been there since her childhood in her _first_ lifetime.

"Don't give me those eyes, Gwen, they're not going to work. Come on, turn the volume up and we'll work on scaring the shit out of the neighbours," Wendy said, grinning.

...

Zach's technique was wearing Warren's power thin, that much was obvious. He was flashing continuously at him, a series of bright lights that could either blind someone or make others go into a fit of seizures. (The spectators were all protected by a dark screen surrounding the arena itself, and viewers at home were advised to watch the show with caution and put their sunglasses on. The light still filtered through, but at a much lower frequency, so Wendy just hoped that the resulting migraine would be worth it.)

Warren was constantly defending himself, a shield of fire held up to obscure the bright light. He was getting exhausted, and could only hope that Zach was tiring faster than he was. He didn't dare look for Zach's reflection in the screen behind him, not knowing if the flashes of light would affect him. Warren knew that he couldn't keep the shield up for very much longer and desperately tried to think of a way to get to Zach without seeing him. In the beginning, people had tried to fight Zach by keeping their eyes closed, but his flashes of light could still be seen behind closed eyelids and affect the brain.

(Mrs. Woo theorised that an opponent who was blind would be able to get further against Zach, and maybe even beat him entirely, since the light could not reach the retina in the eye and go on to affect the brain. But that didn't help him _now_, and Warren sure as fuck wasn't going to burn his eyes out just to win a fight.) Growling under his breath, Warren gathered more strength to put into his shield. As he lifted his arm higher against a particularly bright flash (his eyes stung, as if a thousand camera flashes had been aimed directly at him), he saw the leather cuff around his wrist. If only it was bigger, he might be able to wrap it around his eyes to stop the light penetrating. He was wearing a fairly thin shirt, his leather jacket not allowed in the arena, and his body too hot in and after a fight (and too hard for Blossom to rip off him in the change room, truth be told) to rationalise the jacket anyway. His pants were probably the thickest material he was wearing.

Sighing as Warren realised what he'd have to do to win, he just really hoped that this wouldn't show up on the news highlights that evening, his free hand moving to unzip his jeans. (Of course it wouldn't show up that evening. It would show up on the news highlights for the rest of the _week_.)

Wendy was fairly sure the women in the audience took a collective gasp as Warren unzipped his jeans (probably a couple of men too). Sitting beside her, Gwen suddenly sat up a bit straighter, her cheeks flushed as she stared at the scene intently. The shield that Warren created suddenly surrounded him completely, obscuring him from both Zach and the audience's views (the women let out a disappointed sigh). The flames died down a moment later to reveal Warren standing there, his jeans tied around his face. (Wendy heard one of the women laugh about his face being in his crotch and how she'd like to do something similar. Then she stopped laughing mid-laugh and went strangely silent, drawing Wendy's attention. It could have been a reflection from Zach's glows, but the woman in question seemed to have a green tint to her skin. Wendy licked her lips nervously when she saw that even from across the arena, it looked as though Blossom was watching her, and she hurried to return her attention to the fight instead.)

"Do you think it'll work?" Gwen asked curiously, looking between Warren and Zach.

"It could. No one's ever faced Blaze like this before," Wendy murmured.

"Too bad we can't make a bet on this. I really think Ignite's going to win, but his odds aren't good with the bookies," she said.

"How do you know that?" Wendy asked pointedly.

As her carer, Wendy wasn't allowed to bet - apparently, exposing Gwen to gambling would make the compulsive behaviour take over her desire to use her power, lessening her worth as a recruit - and she was surprised at Gwen's comment, suddenly worrying that she'd somehow failed her.

"I just saw the bookies' signs when we came in. The gamblers looked really desperate, I don't know how they don't have more self control than that," Gwen added in distaste. "Anyway, if they really wanted, they could just ask Blossom for one of the Mad Professor's potions to stop the temptation."

Zach stopped flashing when he saw that Warren wasn't affected, and thanked small mercies for his hand to hand combat training with Coach. Warren might not be able to see him sneaking up on him, but he'd tied the jeans in a double knot, and Zach was fairly sure he'd feel the impromptu blindfold being taken off. Even if Zach did somehow manage to get it off, he'd have a split second to throw the thing away before Warren roasted him alive.

_The spectators were too quiet_, Warren decided. He'd heard the collective gasp on revealing his boxer-clad lower half, but even if they'd all been told to shut up by the fight's officials, they wouldn't have stayed _this_ quiet. _Zach must have done something. Or stopped doing something_, he corrected. Warren lit his arms up and started to walk forward, hoping that Zach hadn't moved from his original position.

Stifling the laughter that tried to escape her throat on seeing Warren walking in the opposite direction to where Zach was standing, Wendy suddenly wished that the interference rule was more lax. It would be fun to call out to Warren, watching him stumble his way around the arena blindfolded as directions were shouted on all sides. But neither the Mad Professor, nor Blossom looked like they would relax the rules for something like that, and the fight continued.

Warren went still, his body turning slightly to the left, then the right. On the large screen at the other end of the arena, Wendy could see a frown on his face, his fingers moving up to the blindfold. Zach powered up in anticipation. Gwen held her breath, and Wendy squeezed her hand, both of them wanting to call out for Warren to leave the blindfold on. They both sighed in relief when he simply moved the sides so that they were resting on his ears rather than covering them. Warren started throwing fireballs in all different directions. Wendy could see the pattern once he'd finished, all 12 fireballs landing much like a clock. Zach had dodged the fire, but his movement gave away his position, and Warren was now facing the right way as he began walking forward, his arms lit up again.

Zach wanted to swear in frustration. Warren was advancing on him, but he couldn't move to get away. The moment he moved, he knew the other man would hear his footsteps, no matter how soft the sound. He'd seen Warren practicing with Coach, and knew that his hearing was freakishly sensitive. _Hell, just lifting his foot off the ground would probably ruin him_.

"Fuck it," he muttered, running straight at Warren.

Hearing Zach's low-voiced curse, Warren turned slightly, his arms lighting up immediately. He threw fireball after fireball at the advancing footsteps, tearing the blindfold off at the last minute to aim properly. Zach was injured, scorched holes in his outfit and a small part of his hair was on fire, but on seeing Warren take off the blindfold, he tried to gather the last of his strength to light up again. He was too slow, and the oncoming fireball was too fast for him. Zach dropped to the ground and didn't get up, unconscious for the moment.

The bell rang loudly, signifying the end of the fight, and Warren took a step forward to see if Zach was all right. Then he saw Hourglass off to the side. She locked her gaze with his and shook her head slightly. Warren clenched his fists and turned sharply on his heel to go to his change room. He had his own injuries to be seen to, and he could look in on Zach while he was at the hospital.

"I think that's the closest anyone's come to actually beating Ignite," Gwen said, impressed as she watched Zach being taken out of the arena on a stretcher.

"It was a good fight," Wendy agreed. "There were a few openings that both missed, though. They were both tired by the end of it."

"I'm not surprised. Did you see the timer on the screen? Ignite kept his fiery shield up for almost 12 straight minutes. That had to be exhausting, yet he still managed to create more after all that!"

Wendy nodded, looking at Gwen in amusement. "I know, I _was_ there, you know."

"Uh-huh. And the way that Zach was able to keep flashing like that was pretty amazing too. I didn't think he'd have it in him," she mused.

Wendy rolled her eyes, and let Gwen prattle on until they reached the apartment. Frowning when Gwen went silent suddenly, Wendy looked past her to see a rose sitting on the doormat. It was a red rose, and a shiver of fear ran through Wendy as she moved around Gwen to pick up the rose and find who it was addressed to. She tried in vain to think of some way that she might have failed the Mad Professor or Blossom, or something she might have done to deserve the red rose, but came up blank. The small tag on the note had Gwen's name on it, and she clutched the stem tightly as she turned to her friend, the girl she'd raised for the past five years, to find her crying into her hands.

"Gwen, what did you do?" she whispered, her heart breaking as she counted the petals.

_Five days. That's all she had left with Gwen. Five days and then she'd be gone. Forever this time_.

Gwen didn't reply, still sobbing quietly into her hands as she moved past Wendy to get into the apartment, the door reconstructing itself with a burst of power. Wendy hurried in after her before the door could reform, the rose still clutched in her hands. Gwen ran into her room, the door slamming shut behind her and the portraits on the walls shuddering in response. Feeling numb, Wendy noticed that the answering machine was flashing red. She could remember the day Gwen had come out of the third room holding the antique device proudly.

Gwen had been working on it for a week, rebuilding the machine manually by hand without using her power. Gwen said that she had wanted to see how it worked before she rebuilt it again with her power. Wendy had plugged it in and excited, Gwen had run out of the apartment to ring the phone and leave the very first message, telling Wendy not to pick up the phone yet. She'd looked so excited about her accomplishment that Wendy almost hadn't the heart to tell her that the message hadn't recorded since there was no cassette tape in the device. But she knew that Gwen would have found out anyway, and when she came in with a broad anticipatory smile, she'd told her in calm tones that it hadn't worked because of the cassette. Gwen had looked disappointed, but there was a sense of determination beneath that feeling, and she'd holed herself away for another week to create something as a cassette substitute. She'd only come out for meals - a few times accompanied with burn and scorch marks, but mumbling under her breath about the rarity of magnetic tapes - and a few times Wendy had found her curled up around a mess of screwdrivers, a series of cassette tapes stacked in piles strewn across the room. It had taken a month, small boxes of requested materials arriving at odd times of the night and day, until Gwen finally announced that she'd finished. Wendy had plugged it in and again, Gwen left the apartment to test the device. It actually worked this time, and despite her questions, Wendy had never found out what Gwen had done to replace the tape. _Gwen had simply said that she would fix it if something happened, and what was she going to do now if it malfunctioned_?

Outside, it was raining heavily, her emotions affecting the weather despite the absence in her own body. Pressing the play button, Wendy listened to the message reluctantly. She listened to it again, and another three times before the words finally seemed to sink in.

"Gwen! Get out here right now!" Wendy called loudly.

Surprised at Wendy's tone, Gwen stopped crying with no small degree of difficulty and left her room quietly. She kept her gaze on the floor, unable to meet Wendy's gaze.

"You need to listen to this," Wendy said, pressing the play button for the fifth time.

"Hi, this is Hourglass. A red rose has been delivered to Gwen as part of her previous life's sentence. She was given a five-year probationary period before her final life sentence is taken, and will need to come before the Mad Professor and Blossom in five days' time. They will review her case, and Gwen can talk with them about what she's learnt, if anything. The Mad Professor and Blossom will then adjourn to discuss whether or not Gwen is utilising her powers properly under Wendy's guidance. If yes, then she can continue to live with Wendy without the final life sentence being served. If not, then Gwen will be Pacified for her final time and be sent to live with someone else. Sorry for scaring you with the red rose; it was _meant_ to be pink," Hourglass added. "Try to have a good night."

The message ended there, and Wendy looked to Gwen, unsure whether to feel relieved or anxious. _Had she done a good job raising Gwen, or would she be deemed an awful caregiver and have Gwen taken away from her forever_?

Gathering Gwen in a tight hug, Wendy tried to control her emotions and let the sun shine once more, even as the girl she considered as her daughter cried on her shoulder.

...

"Gwen Grayson, come inside please," Simon said, holding the door open for her. "Wendy Walker, you can stay here or come in, if you like," he added with a brief nod.

Wendy stood up, squeezing Gwen's hand gently. "Are you all right, Gwen?" she asked quietly as they followed Speed into the room.

Gwen gave a firm nod, but the way she was clutching Wendy's hand tightly said otherwise.

"Gwen, Wendy, please sit down," Blossom said with a quick smile.

They sat down on the two chairs, and Speed left the room when Blossom nodded at him.

"Now, before we begin, do you have any questions about why you are here?" Blossom asked, looking between Wendy and Gwen.

"I have a question," Wendy said, surprising Gwen. "Why is _he_ here?" she asked, looking to Warren, who was sitting beside Blossom.

"I was curious about the process, and the Mad Professor allowed me to attend so long as I gave my honest opinion later," Warren replied when Blosom nodded for him to answer her question.

"If that's your only question, we will begin the process now," the Mad Professor interjected. "Gwen Grayson, how do you address Miss Walker?"

"Aunt Wendy," she replied.

"Why not as a maternal reference?" he asked curiously.

"Because she's not my mother, and it would be weird for both of us. Aunt Wendy and I both agreed that Aunt was easier for both of us to accept. I wouldn't have adjusted to this life as well if I'd been forced to call her Mother or something," Gwen replied certainly.

"Do you believe that your powers have changed in any way since being under Miss Walker's care, and if so, how?" Blossom asked.

"Well, my powers are my powers. I've always been a technopath, that couldn't possibly change," Gwen said with a slight frown. "But... But my approach to my powers has changed. I remember that I used to always just move things to put them together, without ever looking at the why or how. I was always so proud that I didn't need the instructions to put technology together, that I could make anything work if I looked at it long enough. It was a very vain way to use my powers, but I don't do that now. Aunt Wendy was always asking questions when I brought something to her ready-made, and I never had the answers for her. So I started rebuilding things by hand first so I could see how and why things worked the way they did and then I took them apart to rebuild them with my powers. It was a lot of work, but it was very rewarding too, because then I could answer Aunt Wendy's questions."

"Can you provide us with an example of one such item?" the Mad Professor asked.

"The TV, answering machine, and air conditioning system."

"Simon, can you bring their answering machine?" the Mad Professor called, a button on the desk connecting him through to Speed outside of the room.

"What did you do to the air conditioner?" Blossom asked in surprise.

"I fixed the piping so it would stop freezing up any time Aunt Wendy got sick. She's more prone to getting sick, especially when she's teary, and the air con kept freezing up when she sneezed. It was in the middle of summer, so I got into the plant room and fixed the air con system."

"I had wondered why the complaints stopped so suddenly. Why didn't you tell someone that you'd done that?" Blossom asked.

"It didn't occur to me to say anything. There was a problem, I fixed it, that's all there is to it," Gwen replied with a shrug. "I was more preoccupied with helping Aunt Wendy get better anyway."

"I gave you the flu that year. The garbage disposal tried to climb out of the sink," Wendy said, trying hard not to laugh at the memory.

"So? _You_ made it snow in the middle of a heat wave," Gwen muttered, grinning nonetheless.

Speed returned with the answering machine, and the Mad Professor asked Gwen a series of questions about the device that Wendy had no hope of understanding. _He seemed pleased by her answers at least_, she noted. From there, another ten questions were asked of Gwen and Wendy before the Mad Professor, Blossom, and Warren went to a separate room to decide Gwen's fate.

"Hey, you all right?" Wendy asked softly, seeing the expression on Gwen's face.

"Bit worried. What if it's not enough? I don't want to leave, and I don't _want_ to go to another carer. You're my family, not them," she replied.

"What if someone else would be better for you, though? They might be better at nurturing your powers into what's needed... They might be able to cook properly, or know how to change a tyre. How do you know that I'm the best person to be raising you?" Wendy asked, the words feeling like razors in her throat.

"I don't care. Who's going to watch cheesy horror movies with me? Who's going to listen to everything I babble on about, even when they don't understand it? You're the one who's raised me, and you're the one who's given me what I needed. You're the one who made me realise that I was such an _idiot_ before. I still remember Royal Pain, and I don't want to become that again. You've made sure that I've been better than I was, and I don't care what they say, I'm not leaving you, Aunt Wendy," Gwen promised.

Wendy took in a deep breath and hugged Gwen tightly. "I don't want you to go either, Gwen. We'll think of something, I promise."

The Mad Professor, Blossom and Warren returned a few seconds later, silent as they sat down before them again.

"We've reached a final decision. This decision was unanimous and cannot be overturned," the Mad Professor added sternly. "Gwen Grayson, your final life sentence has been revoked and you are allowed to stay under the care of Wendy Walker until you reach your 18th birthday. On that date, you will be given your own apartment, and then you will be added to the recruitment tier where you can stay at your assigned level or challenge for a higher position."

"We are very proud of you, Gwen. You've come a long way, and I hope to be there on the day that you reach your full potential," Blossom said with a kind smile.

A small rosebush started to grow, two pinkish roses appearing before them.

"A gift and apology for the earlier confusion with the colour of the rose," Blossom added, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I was distracted when I created the rose, and I should have known better. It was too late to take it back by the time I realised what had happened."

"Thank you, Blossom," Wendy said, taking the roses and handing one to Gwen.

Blossom nodded wordlessly and they stood to leave, their ordeal finally over.

"Thank you for letting me stay with Aunt Wendy," Gwen said gratefully, hurrying to leave with Wendy.

"Well, I'd better get back to the lab. The final results on the weed killer from South Africa should be done by now, so I can finally work out what the ingredient was that harmed you, Blossom," the Mad Professor said, standing and leaving without waiting for a response.

Speed left after Gwen and Wendy, taking the answering machine with him.

"So, no one knows that the questions are bullshit and they're only judged on their time alone between your questions?" Warren asked Blossom.

"Well, the questions help give the illusion that whatever they say in front of us matters. It's what people say when they're alone that reveals their true nature," Blossom replied.

"We're alone now," Warren pointed out with a smirk.

"Yes, we are," she murmured, a leafy vine rising up from where the rosebush had been a moment before, the leaves covering the small camera hidden in the ceiling.

He leaned across the table to kiss Blossom, his hands gripping her hips as she wound her arms around his neck.

At the room's entrance, Simon shook his head and closed the doors quietly so as not to disturb them. He returned home to Honey, who was waiting to go with him to visit Zach and Ethan in the hospital.

In another building, Gwen was explaining how the answering machine recorded messages and Wendy couldn't stop smiling, even though she had no idea what Gwen was saying.

...

End of the sixth chapter.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!


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